food product development ideas

NEW TECHNOLOGIES REPORT - #02
Date: 5th November, 2022
COLD PLASMA
PROCESSING FOR FOOD
SAFETY
A Unit of Guires © 2023 | www.foodresearchlab.com| Info@foodresearchlab.com

INTRODUCTION
• In order to destroy contaminating germs on meats, poultry, fruits, and vegetables,
cold plasma is a unique non-thermal food processing technology.
• This adaptable sanitizing technique only needs electricity and a carrier gas like air,
oxygen, nitrogen, or helium; chemical antimicrobials are not necessary.
• UV light and reactive chemical byproducts of the cold plasma ionization process
are the main mechanisms of action.
• There are numerous cold plasma systems being developed that can run in low
pressure treatment chambers or at atmospheric pressures.

• Pathogens including Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes,
and Staphylococcus aureus can all be reduced by more than 5 logs.
• Depending on the food being treated and the processing circumstances, effective
treatment timeframes can range from 120 seconds to as low as 3 seconds.
• The relatively early stage of technology development, the diversity and complexity of
the required equipment, and the mostly unstudied effects of cold plasma therapy on
the sensory and nutritional properties of treated foods are the main constraints of cold
plasma.
• Additionally, depending on the kind of cold plasma generated, different cold plasma
systems have different antibacterial mechanisms of action.

METHODS TO GENERATE PLASMA
• Energy is added to a neutral gas to cause the production of charge carriers, which
creates plasmas. When neutral atoms and molecules in the feed gas are struck by
electrons or photons with enough energy, they form electrons and ions in the gas
phase (electron-impact ionisation or photo ionization).
• There are several ways to provide a neutral gas the energy it needs to generate
plasma. One option is to provide thermal energy, which is employed as the main
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.

• Energy-beams that are moderated in a gas volume are yet another method of
supplying energy to a gas reservoir. An further benefit of neutral particle beams is
that they are unaffected by magnetic and electric forces. In fusion devices, neutral
beams are typically utilised for plasma heating or plasma maintenance.
• 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
small number of electrons and ions are always present in any volume of a neutral
gas. These particles are created, for instance, when cosmic rays or radioactive
radiation interact with the gas.

VARIOUS WAYS OF SUPPLYING THE NECESSARY ENERGY FOR
PLASMA GENERATION

BENEFITS OF COLD PLASMA OVER OTHER
FOOD SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES
• The disinfection of products with externally placed microorganisms is possible using
cold plasma. In contrast to light (such as UV light decontamination), plasma travels
around items, preventing "shadow effects" and guaranteeing that the entire product
is cleaned.
• 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
packaging procedure.

• Even with the added requirement for a carrier gas, plasma technologies' electronics
and longevity are equivalent to UV-C systems in terms of energy consumption and
cost-effectiveness for treating food. Atmospheric plasmas with high concentrations of
bactericidal molecules (> 100 ppm ozone, nitric oxides, peroxides, etc.) are produced
quickly and efficiently at room temperature, with little to no product heating.
• A few hundred watts of electricity and a source of compressed air or another gas are
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 than 5 °C, APT can produce bactericidal molecules 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.

ADVANTAGES
• Novel, incredibly quick sterilization/preservation method (sterilization takes
only few minutes).
• The surface treatment method has no impact on the food's vitamins and
nutrients.
• Process runs at standard temperatures (ideal for thermo labile products).
• Any kind of infection can be rendered inactive depending on the type of
plasma.
• Low operating costs (cost of natural gases and electricity).
• Friendly to the environment (uses natural gases including nitrogen, argon,
air, hydrogen and oxygen).

COLD PLASMA TO KILL BACTERIA
FOR RAW CHICKEN
• Over 70% of the tested raw chicken meat contains pathogens including Salmonella
and Campylobacter. A food safety team at Drexel University in Pennsylvania recently
used high-energy, low-temperature plasma to kill undesirable microorganisms
while essentially leaving the product unaltered.
Fig: A plasma torch applied to uncooked chicken

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, and other qualities.
• 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 to PE's low surface energy.
• It has been reported to characterise PE's surface using CO2, H2O, and CO2/H2O plasma.

PACKAGING POLYMERS
Polyethylene terphthalate [PET]
• PET is a material of choice for food packaging because of its many advantageous
qualities, including good strength, stiffness, high strength-to-weight ratio, transparency,
thermal stability, gas barrier property, chemical resistance, and formability.
• The reduced surface energy of PET, like other synthetic polymers, calls for
surface modification to achieve acceptable adhesion, printing, and dyeing qualities.
• The PET film's crystalline structure has a significant role in determining how the
surface energy changes after CP treatments.
• Oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and helium plasma surface characterisation studies
for plasma-treated PET film have been published.

PACKAGING POLYMERS
• Food Packaging Surface Sterilization
• 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 microbiological requirements for food packaging materials. Food packaging materials
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 kinetics for both systems point to the method's scalability.

DISADVANTAGES
• There are certain drawbacks to plasma processing, including a rise in lipid oxidation, a
drop in colour, a loss of fruit firmness, and an increase in acidity, among others.
• 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 increased the peroxide
value.
• After being exposed to atmospheric non equilibrium plasma for 5 minutes, the spinach leaves'
discoloration and wilting effects were noticed.
• Because the plasma effect is a surface phenomena, it is not viable to employ this technique to
inactivate endogenous enzymes that are present in whole fruits in their natural state. Another
drawback of direct plasma application is that it makes fruits less solid.
• According to Kim et al., after 10 minutes of treatment, milk's pH decreased when plasma was
applied.

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.

THANK YOU
M1. 20%

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