Items Tagged with 'cold plasma'

This episode of Food Safety Five discusses new research on the use of cold plasma technologies for biofilm inactivation and reducing allergenic risk, deriving more accurate “sell by” dates based on microbial changes on meat, and ultra-processed food nutrition and purchasing realities.

Researchers achieved microbial reductions of 1.56–1.64 log CFU/cm² by applying plasma-activated water and water–chemical solutions to dual-species E. coli biofilms on stainless steel, suggesting the technology’s potential as a sustainable, safe alternative to traditional sanitizer treatments.

The researchers believe that the approach could be applied to reduce the allergenicity of other foods while maintaining functional properties.

In processing operations for dairy and low-moisture foods, specialized sanitation and environmental monitoring programs are paramount to securing food safety and hygienic operation of facilities. 

With support from the Dairy Innovation Hub, a professor at University of Wisconsin–Platteville is establishing a research program to explore the use of cold plasma technology for food safety, sustainable agriculture, and dairy processing.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Brendan Niemira, Ph.D., a Research Microbiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS), about his work developing cold plasma technology for microbial decontamination in food applications, and its potential to advance food safety.

This article explores novel cold plasma technology and its applications in food processing. The article covers the basics of plasma, its mode of action for the inactivation of microorganisms, the current state of the technology, and future challenges to commercialization. 

Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a way to significantly reduce mycotoxin contamination of grains—plasma treatment.