Decontamination of salmonella on sliced fruits and vegetables surfaces using a direct-current, atmospheric-pressure cold plasma

Summary form only given. Foodborne illnesses are on the rise in recent decades. Salmonella is a common microbiological agent that is considered to be responsible for a large number of cases of foodborne illnesses. They can be found in fresh, peeled, ready-to-eat fruit and vegetables, such as salads. The approaches to clean the surface of fruits and vegetables include thermal processing and chemical decontamination, which can result in some undesirable sensory, nutrition, and taste changes. In this study, a direct-current, atmospheric pressure, cold air plasma was applied to inactivate Salmonella. Effective inactivation was achieved both on agar and on sliced fruit and vegetables. Sliced carrots, cucumbers and pears are treated for different periods of time with the plasma at various air flow rates. Typical temperature on the fruits and vegetables are measured to be about 30 °C during the plasma treatment. Little sensory changes have been detected. Colorimeter is used to examine the differences between the plasma treated and the control groups. HPLC-MS is used to detect the nutritional substances in the treated vegetables and fruits. Possible mechanism for the inactivation of Salmonella with little visible harm to the fruits and vegetables will be discussed at the conference. An upscaled version of this device has the potential to be used in food industry for food processing.