Articolo in rivista, 2021, ENG, 10.3390/foods10030513

Assessment of possible application of an atmospheric pressure plasma jet for shelf life extension of fresh-cut salad

Silvetti T.; Pedroni M.; Brasca M.; Vassallo E.; Cocetta G.; Ferrante A.; De Noni I.; Piazza L.; Morandi S.

Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy; National Research Council, Institute of Sciences of Food Production, Italy; National Research Council, Institute for Plasma Science and Technology, Milan, Italy; Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy; Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.

Ready-to-eat salads are very perishable with quality losses within 6-7 days, and the extension of their shelf life is still a challenge. In this work, an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) was applied for the surface decontamination of fresh-cut lettuce baby leaves. The APPJ antimicrobial efficiency on the natural microbiota and its impact on some physicochemical attributes of lettuce were evaluated as a function of the treatment duration (0-30 s). Then, the influence of plasma treatment on the salad shelf life was studied, following the growth of aerobic mesophilic bacteria in both untreated and plasma-treated samples during 9 days of storage at 4 degrees C, together with the plasma-induced changes in physicochemical parameters of lettuce leaves. The APPJ induced a fast (15 s) microbial decontamination (1.3 log(10) CFU/g) of the salad surface. Exposure time and salad-plasma plume distance were the parameters that substantially affected the microbial inactivation. APPJ treatment retarded bacterial growth during the refrigerated storage, as plasma-treated samples were noticeably less contaminated than the non-treated ones in the first 3-4 days. No significant effect were observed on electrolyte leakage, pH, and dry matter content in both the set up phase and the shelf life study.

Foods 10 (3), pp. 513-1–513-13

Keywords

Antimicrobial, Atmospheric pressure cold plasma, Minimally processed, Ready-to-eat salad, Shelf life

CNR authors

Pedroni Matteo, Vassallo Espedito, Brasca Milena, Morandi Stefano, Silvetti Tiziana

CNR institutes

ISPA – Istituto di scienze delle produzioni alimentari, ISTP – Istituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi

ID: 452413

Year: 2021

Type: Articolo in rivista

Creation: 2021-04-12 15:42:17.000

Last update: 2022-09-06 20:32:45.000

External IDs

CNR OAI-PMH: oai:it.cnr:prodotti:452413

DOI: 10.3390/foods10030513

Scopus: 2-s2.0-85102808821

ISI Web of Science (WOS): 000633644300001