Foodresearch
Uploaded on Jul 15, 2023
Category
Business
Various methods for sterilising food and ensuring food safety have been implemented. Cold plasma is an example of recent developments in the food processing industry, This versatile sanitising technique only needs electricity and a carrier gas like air, oxygen, nitrogen, or helium; chemical antimicrobials are unnecessary. More Info >> https://www.foodresearchlab.com/insights/cold-plasma-processing-for-food-safety/
Category
Business
food product development ideas
COLD PLASMA
PROCESSING FOR FOOD
SAFETY
NEW TECHNOLOGIES REPORT - #02
Date:5th November, 2022
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
INTRODUCTION
• Inorderto destroycontaminatinggermsonmeats,poultry,fruits,andvegetables,
cold plasmaisauniquenon-thermalfoodprocessingtechnology.
• This adaptable sanitizing technique only needs electricity and a carrier gas like
air,oxygen, nitrogen,orhelium;chemicalantimicrobialsarenotnecessary.
• UV lightandreactivechemicalbyproductsof thecoldplasma ionizationprocess
arethemain mechanismsofaction.
• There are numerous cold plasma systems being developed that can run in low
pressure treatmentchambersoratatmosphericpressures.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
• Pathogens including Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes,
and Staphylococcus aureus canallbereducedbymorethan5logs.
• Depending on the food being treated and the processing circumstances, effective
treatment timeframescanrangefrom120secondstoaslowas3seconds.
• Therelativelyearlystageof technologydevelopment, thediversityandcomplexityof
the required equipment, and themostly unstudied effects of cold plasma therapy on
thesensory andnutritionalpropertiesoftreatedfoodsarethemainconstraintsofcold
plasma.
• Additionally, depending on the kind of cold plasma generated, different cold plasma
systems havedifferentantibacterialmechanismsofaction.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
METHODS TO GENERATE PLASMA
• Energyisaddedtoaneutralgastocausetheproductionofchargecarriers,which
creates plasmas.Whenneutralatomsandmoleculesinthefeedgasarestruckby
electronsor photonswithenoughenergy,theyformelectronsandionsinthegas
phase(electron-impact ionisation orphotoionization).
• Thereareseveralways toprovideaneutralgas theenergy itneeds togenerate
plasma.One option is toprovide thermalenergy,which isemployedas themain
energy source in exothermic chemical reactions of molecules, such as in flames.
The gas can heat up to the point of plasma production when compressed
adiabatically.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
• Energy-beams that are moderated in a gas volume are yet another method of
supplying energy toagasreservoir. An furtherbenefitofneutralparticlebeams is
thattheyare unaffectedbymagneticandelectricforces.Infusiondevices,neutral
beamsaretypically utilised forplasmaheatingorplasmamaintenance.
• By applying an electric field to a neutral gas, a low-temperature plasma is most
frequently created and maintained for technological and technical applications. A
smallnumberof electronsand ionsarealwayspresent inanyvolumeofaneutral
gas. These particles are created, for instance, when cosmic rays or radioactive
radiationinteractwiththegas.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
VARIOUS WAYS OF SUPPLYING THE NECESSARY ENERGY
FOR PLASMA GENERATION
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
BENEFITS OF COLD PLASMA OVER OTHER
FOOD SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES
• Thedisinfectionofproductswithexternallyplacedmicroorganisms ispossibleusing
cold plasma. Incontrast to light (suchasUV lightdecontamination),plasma travels
around items, preventing"shadoweffects"andguaranteeing that theentireproduct
iscleaned.
• There is currently no mild surface cleaning method available for things like
chopped vegetables and fresh meat; cold plasma could be used instead. Surfaces
could potentially be cleaned with cold plasma prior to packaging or as part of the
packagingprocedure.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
• Evenwith theadded requirement foracarriergas,plasmatechnologies'electronics
and longevity are equivalent to UV-C systems in terms of energy consumption and
cost-effectivenessfortreatingfood.Atmosphericplasmaswithhighconcentrationsof
bactericidal molecules(>100ppmozone,nitricoxides,peroxides,etc.)areproduced
quicklyandefficiently atroomtemperature,withlittletonoproductheating.
• Afewhundredwattsofelectricityandasourceofcompressedairoranothergasare
needed for atmospheric plasma technology (APT); occasionally, a gas blend
is utilised depending on the reactive gas species being created. With product
temperature increases of less than5 °C, APT canproducebactericidalmolecules in
situ extremely effectively using only air. The technology is expanding into new
markets and applications as a result of its adaptability and distinctive processing
capabilities.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
ADVANTAGES
• Novel,incrediblyquicksterilization/preservationmethod(sterilizationtakes
onlyfewminutes).
• Thesurface treatmentmethodhasno impacton the food'svitaminsand
nutrients.
• Processrunsatstandardtemperatures(idealforthermolabileproducts).
• Anykindof infection canbe rendered inactivedependingon the typeof
plasma.
• Lowoperatingcosts(costofnaturalgasesandelectricity).
• Friendlytotheenvironment(usesnaturalgasesincludingnitrogen,argon,
air,hydrogenand oxygen).
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
COLD PLASMA TO KILL
BACTERIA FOR RAW CHICKEN
• Over70%ofthetestedrawchickenmeatcontainspathogensincludingSalmonella
and Campylobacter. A food safety team at Drexel University in Pennsylvania
recently used high-energy, low-temperature plasma to kill undesirable
microorganismswhileessentially leavingtheproductunaltered.
Fig: Aplasmatorchappliedtouncookedchicken
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
MODIFICATION OF FOOD
PACKAGING POLYMERS
POLYETHYLENE [PE]
• One of the simplest polymers utilised in food packaging in terms of structure is
PE. Commercially available PE comes in a range of densities and is distinguished by
various WVTR (water vapour transfer rate), GTR (gas transmission rate), tensile strength,
heat sealing,andotherqualities.
• This gives food producers the opportunity to select the best package form for
their products.
• However, the majority of cold plasma research has focused on PE surface changes
because toPE'slowsurfaceenergy.
• Ithasbeenreportedto characterise PE'ssurfaceusingCO2,H2O,andCO2/H2Oplasma.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
MODIFICATION OF FOOD
PACKAGING POLYMERS
Polyethylene terphthalate [PET]
• PET is a material of choice for food packaging because of its many advantageous
qualities, includinggoodstrength,stiffness,highstrength-to-weightratio,transparency,
thermal stability,gasbarrierproperty,chemicalresistance,and formability.
• The reduced surface energy of PET, like other synthetic polymers, calls for
surface modificationtoachieveacceptableadhesion,printing,anddyeing qualities.
• The PET film's crystalline structure has a significant role in determining how the
surface energychangesafterCP treatments.
• Oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and helium plasma surface characterisation studies
for plasma-treatedPETfilmhavebeenpublished.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
MODIFICATION OF FOOD
PACKAGING POLYMERS
• FoodPackagingSurfaceSterilization
• In many circumstances, the packaging process is a key critical control point in a
hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system, and the majority of regulatory rules
include microbiologicalrequirementsforfoodpackagingmaterials.Foodpackagingmaterials
are designed to protect food from deterioration, damage, and outside contamination
while maintaining food quality along the chain of distribution and storage. Using PET
foil substrates and typical treatment periods of 5 s, Schneider et al. (2005) evaluated
the scalability of a plasma array system (Duo-Plasmaline®) for industrial applications
and compared the performance to a laboratory size system (Plasmodul®). The spore
reduction kineticsforbothsystemspointtothemethod'sscalability.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
DISADVANTAGES
• There are certain drawbacks to plasma processing, including a rise in lipid oxidation, a
drop in colour,alossoffruitfirmness,andanincreaseinacidity,amongothers.
• The most significant issue is the walnuts' 20% increase in peroxide value at increased
power and treatment times. In the case of samples of peanuts treated with plasma,
similar outcomes were seen. This may be because radicals can oxidise lipid molecules,
which increasedtheperoxidevalue.
• Afterbeingexposedtoatmosphericnonequilibriumplasmafor5minutes,thespinach leaves'
discolorationandwiltingeffectswerenoticed.
• Becausetheplasmaeffectisasurfacephenomena,itisnotviabletoemploythistechnique to
inactivateendogenousenzymesthatarepresentinwholefruitsintheirnaturalstate. Another
drawbackofdirectplasmaapplicationisthatitmakesfruitslesssolid.
• AccordingtoKimetal.,after10minutesoftreatment,milk'spHdecreasedwhenplasma was
applied.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
References
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343532073_Cold_Plasma_Emerging_As_the_
New_Standard_in_Food_Safety
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22149075/#:~:text=Abstract,poultry%2C%20fruits
%2C%20and%20vegetables
.
• https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11483-014-9382-z#:~:text=There%20are
%20some%20limitations%20of,and%20increase%20in%20acidity%20etc.
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
THANK YOU
M1.
20%
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com | [email protected]
Comments