Cold Plasma in Food Technology

This article discusses the use of Cold Plasma in food technology, including its benefits and limitations. It covers the process of formation, advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of using Cold Plasma in the food industry. The article also highlights the potential of Cold Plasma in agriculture and medical environments.

Running head: COLD PLASMA IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
Cold plasma in food technology
Name of the student:
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COLD PLASMA IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
Table of Contents
Question 1:.................................................................................................................................2
Question 2:.................................................................................................................................3
Question 3:.................................................................................................................................4
Question 5:.................................................................................................................................5
Question 6:.................................................................................................................................6
Limitations:............................................................................................................................6
Advantages:............................................................................................................................7
Disadvantages:.......................................................................................................................8
References:.................................................................................................................................9

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Question 1:
Cold Plasma is an innovative non-thermal method of food processing which adopts
the use of energetic and reactive gases for deactivating and eradicating the microbes that
contaminate food products like fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat (Niemira, Cold
plasma decontamination of foods. , 2012). Plasma refers to a state of matter in which there
are many atoms, molecules and ionized and electrically charged particles present. It is a
fourth state of matter. Cold plasma can defined as the non-thermal plasma or non-equilibrium
plasma which is not in thermodynamic equilibrium, with the electron temperature being
hotter than the heavy species temperature. As only the electrons of the cold plasma are
thermalized, the Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution of the cold plasma molecules has
been reported to be very different from their ion velocity distribution. As a result the cold
plasma or the non-thermal plasma are also considered non Maxwellian plasma (Thirumdas,
Sarangapani & Annapure, 2015).
The process of formation of the cold plasma involves using the electric or
electromagnetic fields for the ionizing of the gases and formation of reactive gases that would
decontaminate the microbes in the food (Pankaj, Wan & Keener, 2018). The plasma can be
generated by using any different kind or form of energy which has the potential to ionize the
gases, for instance electrical, thermal, optical, radioactive, and x-ray electromagnetic
radiation. However, electric and electromagnetic fields are the most abundantly used
techniques of cold plasma generation. The exact process involves ionization using the
powerful electrical fields and dropping the temperature of the resulting gaseous object with
relatively low energy (Ohta, 2016). Dielectric barrier and a jet plasma are two of the most
widely used techniques in Cold Plasma technology for the food industry.
They are shown as follows:

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COLD PLASMA IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
Source: (Pankaj, Wan, & Keener, 2018)
https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/7/1/4
Question 2:
In this process, a quasi-neutral gas that is ionized containing ions, photons, atoms and
free electrons which are present in their ground state or excited state. In this process,
electrical energy at high value is incident on the air between the two electrodes (Pankaj, Wan,
& Keener, 2018). Ions and reactive particles are formed as shown in the following figure.

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COLD PLASMA IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
Question 3:
Cold plasma has a wide array of benefits or usage in the different industries, especially inn
the food processing industry. Cold Plasma is used for the microbial destruction and
eradication from the foods like fruits, meats and meat products, cheese, etc. (Thirumdas,
Sarangapani, & Annapure, 2015). However, along with the food technology and food
processing industry, the applicative benefits associated with the cold plasma also extends to
the medical environment as well (Sarangapani, Patange, Bourke, Keener & Cullen, 2018). It
has to be mentioned in this context that cold plasma has been reported to be effective for
inactivation of various different kinds of pathogens and the various spoilage microbes
without negatively affecting the food quality. Although the main applications of the cold
plasma technology is associated with the food industry, such as decontamination of food,
surface modification of the packaging material, toxin degradation, and quality improvement
of the food products (Thirumdas, Sarangapani & Annapure, 2015). Cold plasma technology
is also abundantly being utilized for inactivating the endogenous enzymes that have been
reported to responsible for browning reactions, for instance, especially polyphenoloxidase
and peroxidases. Plasma technology is also being considered as modern non-conventional
technique for the preparation of modified starches, altering its physical and chemical
properties. Besides this, it is also used to alter the germination rate of seeds. It is an eco-
friendly process which is used in the preservation of food and other potential applications as
an alternative to common techniques (Thirumdas, Sarangapani & Annapure,2015).
Question 4:
First and foremost, it has to be discussed in this context that cold plasma has the most
influential application in the in-package decontamination of foods. It has been recognized as
the unit process for fresh food decontamination and shelf-life extension. Cold Plasma helps in
cell surface etching through the formation of reactive species that would break the microbes

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COLD PLASMA IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
present in food. Cold Plasma is found to reduce the percentage of harmful bacteria in foods
like E. coli in milk without affecting the appearance and taste of the food product.
Inactivation of pathogen like E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and L. monocytogenes is
observed through use of the Clod Plasma technology for food industry (Patra, Patel, Shah, &
Shukla, 2017). Cold Plasma is stated to kill up to 99.9% of the notovirus on blueberries with
the help of a “purple glow torch”. (Food Safety News (FSN), 2016). Along with that, as
discussed by the authiors, the cold plasma can also be used to degrade various structures of
chemical residues of agricultural pesticides to a more safer and less toxic structure utilizing
the cold plasma technique. Another potential usage for cold plasma is cold plasma mediated
contaminant control and seed germination or plant growth promotion as an alternative
technique to current pesticides and fertilizers for agriculture. Controlling plasma reactive
species formulations in dry and liquid delivery formats advances the potential for
understanding and successful translation to multiple points along the agriculture and food
sectors (Pankaj et al., 2014).
(Source: Ekezie, F. G. C., Sun, D. W., & Cheng, J. H. (2017). A review on recent advances in
cold plasma technology for the food industry: Current applications and future trends. Trends

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COLD PLASMA IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
in food science & technology, 69, 46-58.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224417304582 )
Question 5:
The cold plasma phenomenon has wide usage in the field of food technology and food
safety. Moreover, with the emerging new and innovative techniques of utilizing it in
decontamination, quality improvement and shelf life extension, new horizons are opening
every day for application of cold plasma technology. The regular or mainstream application
of the cold plasma technique in the food industry includes microbial inactivation, surface
control and degradation of all kinds of toxins and pesticides (Pankaj, Wan & Keener, 2018).
Along with that, cold plasma is used in the milk production industry for disinfecting milk
from various harmful bacteria that would be reducing the quality of milk and also diminish its
shelf life to a great extent (Thirumdas, Sarangapani, & Annapure, 2015). Meat and poultry
industry where it serves the purpose of providing anti-microbial properties and increases the
shelf-life along with the quality of food by preventing it from getting degraded by microbial
action (Thirumdas, Sarangapani, & Annapure, 2015). Cold Plasma has agricultural
applications where the quality of the food crops that are cultivated is retained by preventing
the action of the microbes and harmful bacteria using cold Plasma. The contamination of the
seeds is also prevented by the use of Cold Plasma (Bourke, Ziuzina, Boehm, Cullen, &
Keener, 2018). Furthermore, as explained by Bourke, Ziuzina, Boehm, Cullen & Keener
(2018), cold plasma technique also has applicative benefits in modification of the food
packaging materials as well. Hence, the cold plasma techniques has a diverse usage and can
be implemented in multidimensional sectors of food industry for enhancing quality and safety
of the products. It has to be mentioned that the most important applicative benefit of the cold
plasma technique is the diversity of the mechanism of action of the cold plasma, the
flexibility of the cold plasma technology as a standalone technology is very high, and

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however, along with that the technology can also be easily integrated with other emerging
technologies. As a result, the cold plasma technique has become a potent tool to provide a
rich source for developing innovative solutions. Hence, as an emerging technique in the food
industry the applications have a huge potential, which if utilized correctly can revolutionize
the food processing and packaging industry (Pankaj et al., 2014).
(Source: https://www.cell.com/trends/biotechnology/fulltext/S0167-7799(17)30299-
8)
Question 6:
Limitations:
Although the cold plasma technique has a wide array of benefits, there also are a few
notable limitations associated with the technique. First and foremost, it has to be mentioned
that the Cold Plasma technique uses gases containing oxygen, which in turn influences the
lipids, and give rise to the formation of reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species
(ROS) produced due to the lipid oxygenation has a huge impact on reducing the quality of the
food. Thus, formation of lipid oxidation is a major disadvantage of using cold plasma based

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COLD PLASMA IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
on gas inducer. However, there are a few novel techniques emerging to reduce the rate and
extent of lipid oxygenation due. For instance, plasma process optimization is recommended
for reducing the rate of lipid oxidation in treatment of foods with high lipid content.
(Gavahian, Chu, Khaneghah, Barba, & Misra, 2018).
Advantages:
There are various advantages of integrating the cold plasma technique in the food processing
and packaging industry extensively. A few notable advantages includes:
Greater efficacy in removing the microbial contamination from the food with minimal impact
on food quality.
Cold plasma has also been reported to improve and promote the seed germination and plant
growth, actively reducing the time period required in harvesting the yield (Pankaj, Wan &
Keener, 2015).
Cold Plasma technology helps in insect controlling among the stored products. Researches
demonstrated that it has increased larval and pupal mortality through the reactive oxygen
species developed in this treatment.
Contamination of seeds, crops and grains can be reduced by the use of the high oxidizing
potential of this technology that can help in degradation of the mycotoxins (Bourke, Ziuzina,
Boehm, Cullen, & Keener, 2018).
Cold Plasma has improved results in pesticide degradation thereby maintaining the quality of
crops produced (Niemira, 2012).
Cold plasma can replace the usage of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural sector due to its
excellent Cold-plasma-mediated control of contaminants, along with the promotion of seed
germination and plant growth (Bourke, Ziuzina, Boehm, Cullen & Keener, 2018).

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COLD PLASMA IN FOOD TECHNOLOGY
When integrated with the predictive microbiology, process optimization tools and a systems
approach with the controlled reactive species formulations, the cold plasma technique has the
potential to achieve risk or problem tailored solutions with respect to whole food systems.
Cold plasma mediated controlling plasma reactive species formulations in dry and liquid
delivery formats advances the potential for understanding and successful translation to
multiple points along the agriculture and food sectors (Bourke, Ziuzina, Boehm, Cullen &
Keener, 2018).
Disadvantages:
The disadvantages of the application of the cold plasma technique in the food industry
includes:
The first and foremost, disadvantage of the cold plasma technique is the lipid oxygenation,
which in turn leads to formation of reactive oxygen species which has an extensive adverse
impact on the quality of the food item. It reduces the taste, incorporates certain odour and
overall degrades the quality of the food, especially fresh vegetables, dairy and meat (Cheng,
2016).
Chemical changes in food components due to the use of Cold Plasma is a major disadvantage
that can deteriorate the quality of food containing high lipid content.
The UV mediated effects and other chemical effects due to the interactions between the
radicals, charged particles, reactive atomic species or reactive plasmatic chemistry product
might deteriorate the quality of the food (Niemira, 2012).
Optimization is required while adopting Cold Plasma technology to reduce the negative
impacts on the nutritional and functional properties of food that are decontaminated using this
method (Pankaj, Wan, & Keener, 2018).

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References:
Bourke, P., Ziuzina, D., Boehm, D., Cullen, P. J., & Keener, K. (2018). The potential of cold
plasma for safe and sustainable food production. Trends in biotechnology. Doi:
10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.11.001
Cheng, J. H. (2016). Lipid Oxidation in Meat. J Nutr Food Sci 6:494. doi: 10.4172/2155-
9600.1000494
Food Safety News (FSN). (2016, December 7). Cold plasma proving to be hottest new food
safety treatment. Retrieved from https://www.foodsafetynews.com:
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/12/cold-plasma-proving-to-be-hottest-new-
food-safety-treatment/
Gavahian, M., Chu, Y. H., Khaneghah, A. M., Barba, F. J., & Misra, N. N. (2018). A critical
analysis of the cold plasma induced lipid oxidation in foods. . Trends in Food Science
& Technology.
Niemira, B. A. (2012). Cold plasma decontamination of foods. . Annual review of food
science and technology, 3,, 125-142.
Ohta, T. (2016). Plasma in agriculture. In Cold Plasma in Food and Agriculture (pp. 205-
221). Doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-801365-6.00008-1
Pankaj, S. K., Bueno-Ferrer, C., Misra, N. N., Milosavljević, V., O'donnell, C. P., Bourke, P.,
... & Cullen, P. J. (2014). Applications of cold plasma technology in food
packaging. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 35(1), 5-17. Doi:
10.1016/j.tifs.2013.10.009.
Pankaj, S., Wan, Z., & Keener, K. (2018). Effects of cold plasma on food quality: A
review. Foods, 7(1), 4. Doi: 10.3390/foods7010004

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Patra, F., Patel, A., Shah, N., & Shukla, D. A. (2017). Application of Cold Plasma
Technology in Milk and Dairy Products-Current Status and Future Prospective.
Sarangapani, C., Patange, A., Bourke, P., Keener, K., & Cullen, P. J. (2018). Recent advances
in the application of cold plasma technology in foods. Annual review of food science
and technology, 9, 609-629. Doi: 10.1146/annurev-food-030117-012517
Thirumdas, R., Sarangapani, C., & Annapure, U. S. (2015). Cold plasma: a novel non-
thermal technology for food processing. Food biophysics, 10(1), 1-11. Doi:
10.1007/s11483-014-9382-z}