Guava flavored whey-beverage processed by cold plasma: Physical characteristics, thermal behavior and microstructure

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Plasma Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Conventional pasteurization can affect the physicochemical and physical properties of beverages.
• Cold plasma technology offers a non-thermal processing alternative with potential benefits for food products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of cold plasma treatment on guava-flavored whey beverages.
• To compare the effects of varying cold plasma processing times and gas flow rates with conventional pasteurization.

Main Methods:

• Physicochemical analysis (pH)
• Physical property assessment (rheology, particle size)
• Microstructural observation (optical microscopy)
• Thermal property analysis (differential scanning calorimetry)
• Comparison with conventional pasteurization

Main Results:

• Cold plasma-treated whey beverages exhibited higher pH, lower consistency, and lower viscosity compared to pasteurized products.
• Milder cold plasma conditions maintained similar particle distribution and microstructure to pasteurized beverages.
• Severe cold plasma conditions led to smaller particle sizes (~10 μM) and increased viscosity and consistency.
• Thermal properties (enthalpy, bound water) remained unaffected by all treatments.

Conclusions:

• Cold plasma technology can modify the rheological and microstructural properties of whey beverages.
• Processing parameters (time, gas flow) critically influence the outcome of cold plasma treatment.
• Cold plasma presents a viable alternative to pasteurization for certain beverage applications, offering tunable property modifications.