Inactivation of Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica and natural microflora on tempered wheat grains by atmospheric cold plasma

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Solutions for Sustainable Food Packaging

Increasing the number of resistant bacteria resistant to treatment is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. These bacteria are created in wounds and injuries and can be transferred through hospital equipment. Various attempts have been made to treat these bacteria in recent years, such as using different drugs and new sterilization methods. However, some bacteria resist drugs, and other traditional methods cannot destroy them. In the meantime, various studies have shown that cold atmospheric plasma can kill these bacteria through different mechanisms, making cold plasma a promising tool to deactivate bacteria. This new technology can be effectively used in the food industry because it has the potential to inactivate microorganisms such as spores and microbial toxins and increase the wettability and printability of polymers to pack fresh and dried food. It can also increase the shelf life of food without leaving any residue or chemical effluent. This paper investigates cold plasma's potential, advantages, and disadvantages in the food industry and sterilization.

Pasteurization of Salmonella spp. in black fungus (Auricularia auricula) powder by radio frequency heating

Radio frequency (RF) heating has been studied to inactivate bacteria in some powder foods. In this study, a 6 kW, 27.12 MHz RF system was used to pasteurize Salmonella in black fungus (Auricularia auricula) powder. The effects of different conditions (initial aw, electrodes gaps, particle sizes) on RF heating rate and uniformity were investigated. The results showed that RF heating rate was significantly (p < 0.05) improved with decreasing electrodes gap and increasing initial aw, and the heating rate was the slowest when the particle size was 120-160 mesh. However, these factors had no significant (p > 0.05) influence on heating uniformity. RF pasteurization of Salmonella in black fungus powder was also studied. The results showed that, to inactivate Salmonella for 5 log reductions in the cold spot (the center of surface layer), the time needed and bacteria heat resistance at designated temperature (65, 75, 85 °C) decreased with increasing aw, and the first order kinetics and Weibull model could be used to fit inactivation curves of Salmonella with well goodness. Quality analysis results showed that although RF pasteurization had no significant (p > 0.05) effect on Auricularia auricula polysaccharide (AAP) and total polyphenols, obvious changes were found on color. Results suggested that RF pasteurization can be considered as an effective pasteurization method for black fungus powder.

Assessment of the content of macronutrients and microbiological safety of dry dog foods

In Europe, there are no legal regulations specifying maximum allowable limits for pathogenic bacteria or fungi and yeasts in dog food. For proximate composition, the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) nutritional guidelines provide minimum recommended levels for protein and fat only, not for other ingredients and no safe maximum levels. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological safety of 35 dry dog foods, taking into account the division into foods with grains as the main plant ingredient and those described as grain-free. We assumed that grain-included foods are more susceptible to the presence of the total number of aerobic bacteria. This parameter is an essential, hygienic criterion informing about the microbiological safety of the pet food. It also inform about the microbiological quality of the food ingredients used, the effectiveness of decontamination during the production process, sanitary and hygienic conditions during the acquisition, processing and marketing of pet food and its components. In the case of macronutrients, the results in some cases were multiples of the minimum recommended levels. The most important microorganisms that presence was found in the analyzed dog foods were indicator bacteria (E. coli and coliform bacteria, Clostridium perfringens), whose presence in feed constitutes microbiological contamination. They inform about sanitary and hygienic conditions during the production and storage of the pet food. The current guidelines recommend microbiological testing of food for the presence of Salmonella bacilli as the basic indicator for assessing the sanitary quality. No Salmonella spp. was detected in any of the foods. The remaining analyzed bacteria (Proteus spp., Enterococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp.) as well as molds and yeasts, were present in both grain-included and grain-free foods. The obtained results showed that in terms of microbiological safety, grain-included foods come out worse, because microorganisms were detected more frequently in this type of dry dog food.

Comparative analysis of helium and air surface micro-discharge plasma treatment on the microbial reduction and quality attributes of beef slices

This work aimed to compare the effects of helium and air surface micro-discharge (SMD) plasma on the microbial safety and quality of beef tissues. For the beef tissue model, the concentration and diffusion depth of hydroxyl radical and ozone have different change patterns over plasma treatment time and distance in helium and air SMD plasma. The inactivation efficiency of helium plasma depended on the plasma treatment time and distance, while the inactivation efficiency of air plasma only depended on the treatment time. For the fresh beef slices, air SMD plasma treatment exhibited a higher antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and E. coli than helium SMD plasma treatment (1.5 versus 0.9; 0.9 versus 0.28 log CFU/g at 10 min). However, air SMD plasma treatment caused more adverse effects on beef quality, leading to a smooth surface, extensive lipid oxidation, protein structure damage, low pH and discoloration compared to helium SMD plasma treatment. This work provides valuable guidelines for the working gas choice in the practical application of plasma to meat decontamination.

Recent developments in applications of physical fields for microbial decontamination and enhancing nutritional properties of germinated edible seeds and sprouts: a review

Germinated edible seeds and sprouts have attracted consumers because of their nutritional values and health benefits. To ensure the microbial safety of the seed and sprout, emerging processing methods involving physical fields (PFs), having the characteristics of high efficiency and environmental safety, are increasingly proposed as effective decontamination processing technologies. This review summarizes recent progress on the application of PFs to germinating edible seeds, including their impact on microbial decontamination and nutritional quality and the associated influencing mechanisms in germination. The effectiveness, application scope, and limitation of the various physical techniques, including ultrasound, microwave, radio frequency, infrared heating, irradiation, pulsed light, plasma, and high-pressure processing, are symmetrically reviewed. Good application potential for improving seed germination and sprout growth is also described for promoting the accumulation of bioactive compounds in sprouts, and subsequently enhancing the antioxidant capacity under favorable PFs processing conditions. Moreover, the challenges and future directions of PFs in the application to germinated edible seeds are finally proposed. This review also attempts to provide an in-depth understanding of the effects of PFs on microbial safety and changes in nutritional properties of germinating edible seeds and a theoretical reference for the future development of PFs in processing safe sprouted seeds.

Phage Biocontrol Effectively Reduces Contamination of Wheat with Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121 and O26 Without Adverse Effects on Flour Quality

Contamination of wheat flours with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) is a concern for the milling industry. Milling-specific interventions are needed to address this food safety hazard. The objectives for this study were to determine the efficacy of bacteriophage treatment in reducing wheat STEC contamination during tempering, and assess its effects on flour milling and baking quality. Bacteriophage solutions were prepared by mixing sterile water with the bacteriophage treatment at the following levels: 1 × 106 (0.1%), 2.5 × 106 (0.25%), 5 × 106 (0.5%), 1 × 107 (1.0%), and 1 × 108 (10%) PFU/g wheat dosage. Sterile water (0%) was used as the control. Predried wheat grains were inoculated with STEC (O121 and O26) at 5.0 and 6.0 log CFU/g to restore its original moisture content followed by resting for 24 h. Inoculated grains were then tempered (16% moisture, 24 h) using the prepared bacteriophage solutions. Grains were sampled at 0.5, 1, 2, 6, 12, 18, and 24 h during tempering to determine STEC concentration. The effects of the phage solutions on the flour milling and baking quality were also tested. Tempering time, bacteriophage dose, and their interaction had significant effects on phage efficacy (P < 0.05), with better reductions observed at longer tempering times and higher bacteriophage doses. The use of phage solutions reduced (P < 0.05) wheat STEC concentration after tempering, with the 10% treatment (3.2 logs) achieving ahigher reduction than the 1% (2.4 logs) treatment under similar phage preparation. Phage tempering (including at the highest concentration examined, i.e., 10%) produced wheat flours with comparable quality to the control. Phage-treated wheat flour resulted in breads with finer crumb structure, and comparable texture compared to the control. Phage tempering is a viable intervention for wheat milling as it reduced STEC loads of wheat with no detrimental effects to flour milling and baking quality.

Radio-frequency treatment of medium-gluten wheat: effects of tempering moisture and treatment time on wheat quality

BACKGROUND

Wheat and wheat flour are important raw materials of staple foods. Medium-gluten wheat is now the dominant wheat in China. In order to expand the application of medium-gluten wheat, radio-frequency (RF) technology was used to improve its quality. Effects of tempering moisture content (TMC) of wheat and RF treatment time on wheat quality were investigated.

RESULTS

No evident change in protein content after RF treatment, but a reduction in wet gluten content of the sample with 10-18% TMC and RF treatment for 5 min, was observed. By contrast, protein content increased to 31.0% after RF treatment for 9 min in 14% TMC wheat, achieving the requirement of high-gluten wheat (≥30.0%). Thermodynamic and pasting properties indicated that RF treatment (14% TMC, 5 min) can alter the double-helical structure and pasting viscosities of flour. In addition, the results of textural analysis and sensory evaluation for Chinese steamed bread showed that RF treatment for 5 min with different TMC (10-18%) wheat could deteriorate wheat quality, while the wheat (14% TMC) treated with RF for 9 min had the best quality.

CONCLUSION

RF treatment for 9 min can improve wheat quality when the TMC was 14%. The results are beneficial to the application of RF technology in wheat processing and improvement of wheat flour quality. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Atmospheric cold plasma: A potential technology to control Shewanella putrefaciens in stored shrimp

This work aimed to investigate the inactivation mechanism of atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) against Shewanella putrefaciens both in PBS and sterile shrimp juice (SSJ). Reductions in cell density, cell viability, and biofilm formation activity were observed after ACP treatment. ACP cyclical treatment (1 min, 5 times) was more efficient than a one-time treatment (5 min, 1 time). After ACP cyclical treatment, the cell counts and cell viability of S. putrefaciens in PBS were decreased by 3.41 log CFU/mL and 85.30 %, respectively. As for SSJ group, the antibacterial efficiency of ACP declined, but the antibacterial effect of ACP cyclical treatment was still stronger than that of ACP one-time treatment. The biofilm formation activity of S. putrefaciens in PBS was almost completely inhibited, while it gradually returned to normal level with the prolonged of storage time for the SSJ counterpart. The rapid decrease in AKP activity after ACP treatment indicated the damage to cell wall integrity, which was also demonstrated by TEM. In addition, cell membrane and DNA damage of the strain also occurred after ACP treatment. The ROS fluorescence intensity in PBS was higher for the one-time treatment group, while the cyclical treatment group exhibited higher and more stable ozone levels. It was also detected that the total nitric oxide concentration in bacterial suspension depended on the dose of ACP treatment time. ACP treatment (35 kV) for 5 min, especially cyclical treatment, displayed its antibacterial properties on packaged shrimp contaminated with high concentration of S. putrefaciens. ACP cyclical treatment reduced surface bacterial counts of whole shrimps by 0.52 log CFU/mL, while ACP one-time treatment only achieved a decrease of 0.18 log CFU/mL. Therefore, ACP treatment could be considered as a potential alternative to enhance microbial control in food processing.

A Cold Plasma Technology for Ensuring the Microbiological Safety and Quality of Foods

Changing consumers’ taste for chemical and thermally processed food and preference for perceived healthier minimally processed alternatives is a challenge to food industry. At present, several technologies have found usefulness as choice methods for ensuring that processed food remains unaltered while guaranteeing maximum safety and protection of consumers. However, the effectiveness of most green technology is limited due to the formation of resistant spores by certain foodborne microorganisms and the production of toxins. Cold plasma, a recent technology, has shown commendable superiority at both spore inactivation and enzymes and toxin deactivation. However, the exact mechanism behind the efficiency of cold plasma has remained unclear. In order to further optimize and apply cold plasma treatment in food processing, it is crucial to understand these mechanisms and possible factors that might limit or enhance their effectiveness and outcomes. As a novel non-thermal technology, cold plasma has emerged as a means to ensure the microbiological safety of food. Furthermore, this review presents the different design configurations for cold plasma applications, analysis the mechanisms of microbial spore and biofilm inactivation, and examines the impact of cold plasma on food compositional, organoleptic, and nutritional quality.

Recent Advances and Potential Applications of Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma Technology for Sustainable Food Processing

In a circular economy, products, waste, and resources are kept in the system as long as possible. This review aims to highlight the importance of cold plasma technology as an alternative solution to some challenges in the food chain, such as the extensive energy demand and the hazardous chemicals used. Atmospheric cold plasma can provide a rich source of reactive gas species such as radicals, excited neutrals, ions, free electrons, and UV light that can be efficiently used for sterilization and decontamination, degrading toxins, and pesticides. Atmospheric cold plasma can also improve the utilization of materials in agriculture and food processing, as well as convert waste into resources. The use of atmospheric cold plasma technology is not without challenges. The wide range of reactive gas species leads to many questions about their safety, active life, and environmental impact. Additionally, the associated regulatory approval process requires significant data demonstrating its efficacy. Cold plasma generation requires a specific reliable system, process control monitoring, scalability, and worker safety protections.

Recent trends and technological development in plasma as an emerging and promising technology for food biosystems

The rising need for wholesome, fresh, safe and “minimally-processed” foods has led to pioneering research activities in the emerging non-thermal technology of food processing. Cold plasma is such an innovative and promising technology that offers several potential applications in the food industry. It uses the highly reactive, energetic and charged gas molecules and species to decontaminate the food and package surfaces and preserve the foods without causing thermal damage to the nutritional and quality attributes of food. Cold plasma technology showed promising results about the inactivation of pathogens in the food industry without affecting the food quality. It is highly effective for surface decontamination of fruits and vegetables, but extensive research is required before its commercial utilization. Recent patents are focused on the applications of cold plasma in food processing and preservation. However, further studies are strongly needed to scale up this technology for future commercialization and understand plasma physics for getting better results and expand the applications and benefits. This review summarizes the emerging trends of cold plasma along with its recent applications in the food industry to extend shelf life and improve the quality of food. It also gives an overview of plasma generation and principles including mechanism of action. Further, the patents based on cold plasma technology have also been highlighted comprehensively for the first time.

Effects of radio frequency heating on microbial populations and physicochemical properties of buckwheat

Microbial contamination is a persistent problem for grain industry. Many studies have shown that radio frequency (RF) heating can effectively reduce pathogens populations in low moisture foods, but there is a lack on the efficacy to decontaminate natural microbiome. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of different RF heating conditions on natural microbial populations and physicochemical properties of buckwheat. In this study, 30 buckwheat samples collected from 10 different Provinces in China were analyzed for their microbial loads, and the samples with the highest microbial populations were used for further study to select the suitable RF heating conditions. The results showed that microbial loads in tested buckwheat kernels were in the range of 3.4-6.2 log CFU/g. Samples from Shanxi (SX-3) had significantly higher microbial counts than other samples. The selected four temperature-time combinations: 75 °C-20 min, 80 °C-10 min, 85 °C-5 min, and 90 °C-0 min of RF heating could reduce microbial counts to <3.0 log CFU/g in buckwheat kernels at 16.5% w.b. moisture content. Furthermore, the reduction populations of the inoculated pathogens (Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Cronobacter sakazakii, and Bacillus cereus) reached 4.0 log CFU/g under the above conditions, and almost 5.0 log CFU/g especially at high temperature-short holding time combinations (85 °C-5 min and 90 °C-0 min). Besides, physicochemical properties evaluation also showed the insignificant color changes and nutrients loss after RF treatment at 90 °C-0 min. Therefore, the RF heating at 90 °C-0 min holds greater potential than the other lower temperature-longer holding time combinations for applications in buckwheat pasteurization.

A Review of Microbial Decontamination of Cereals by Non-Thermal Plasma

Cereals, an important food for humans and animals, may carry microbial contamination undesirable to the consumer or to the next generation of plants. Currently, non-thermal plasma (NTP) is often considered a new and safe microbicidal agent without or with very low adverse side effects. NTP is a partially or fully ionized gas at room temperature, typically generated by various electric discharges and rich in reactive particles. This review summarizes the effects of NTP on various types of cereals and products. NTP has undisputed beneficial effects with high potential for future practical use in decontamination and disinfection.

Electrohydraulic Streamer Discharge Plasma-Enhanced Alternaria brassicicola Disinfection in Seed Sterilization

As emerging chemical-free and eco-friendly technologies, nonthermal (gas discharge) plasma and (liquid phase) plasma-activated water (PAW) offer exceptional microbial disinfection solutions for biological, medical, environmental, and agricultural applications. Herein, we present electrohydraulic streamer discharge plasma (ESDP), which combines streamer discharge plasma (SDP) and PAW generated at a gas-liquid interface, to sterilize Chinese kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra) seeds contaminated with Alternaria brassicicola (A. brassicicola). The results showed that the ESDP treatment of A. brassicicola-inoculated seeds provides a ∼75% reduction of A. brassicicola (incident percentage) compared with nontreated seeds. Likewise, the healthy seedling percentage of the plasma-treated seeds was significantly improved to ∼70%, while that of the nontreated seeds remained at ∼15%. A microscopic examination was performed, and it confirmed that ESDP can damage the A. brassicicola spores attached to Chinese kale seeds and lead to severe morphological abnormalities after treatment. Also, an electric field simulation was performed, and it indicated that the strongly localized electric field at the liquid-gas interface on the seed surface boundary had initiated local breakdown of the gas at the air-liquid interface, resulting in exceptional physical-chemical reactions for antimicrobial efficacy beyond typical plasma treatments. Moreover, the optical emission spectra and physicochemical properties (pH, conductivity, and oxidation-reduction potential) showed that inactivation is mainly associated with the reactive oxygen-nitrogen species in the liquid and gas phases. We believe that this work is of great interest when using electrical discharge plasma on liquid interfaces in food, agricultural, and medical industries.