Cold plasma interactions with food ingredients functionality

Area of Science:

• Agri-food science
• Food processing technology
• Plasma physics

Background:

• Early cold plasma applications in agri-food focused on bio-decontamination.
• Recent research expands cold plasma use to pesticide degradation, seed germination, food functionality, and packaging.
• Cold plasma offers cost-effective, sustainable, and non-thermal processing with design versatility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the expanding applications of cold plasma in agri-food systems.
• To highlight the multifunctional mechanisms of cold plasma beyond microbial inactivation.
• To emphasize the need for understanding cold plasma interactions with food matrices for commercialization.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of cold plasma applications in the agri-food sector.
• Analysis of cold plasma mechanisms and interactions with food components.
• Discussion of challenges and requirements for commercial adoption.

Main Results:

• Cold plasma technology has evolved from bio-decontamination to diverse applications.
• Key applications include pesticide degradation, enhanced seed germination, improved food functionality, and modified packaging.
• Understanding plasma interactions with food matrices (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, etc.) is crucial.

Conclusions:

• Cold plasma presents a promising, sustainable technology for the agri-food industry.
• Further research into mechanisms and food matrix interactions is essential for successful commercialization.
• Control over food quality attributes is a key factor for adopting cold plasma processing.