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  • Cold plasma enhances the ef...
    Song, Yuanyuan; Fan, Xuetong

    Food microbiology, 20/May , Letnik: 87
    Journal Article

    In the present study, we investigated whether cold plasma activation affected the efficacy of aerosolized hydrogen peroxide against S. Typhimurium and L. innocua. Stem scars and smooth surfaces of grape tomatoes, surfaces of Granny Smith apples and Romaine lettuce (both midrib and upper leaves) and cantaloupe rinds were inoculated with two-strain cocktails of S. Typhimurium and 3-strain cocktails of L. innocua. The inoculated samples were treated with 7.8% aerosolized H2O2 with and without cold plasma for various times. For all fresh produce items and surfaces, cold plasma significantly (P < 0.05) improved the efficacy of aerosolized H2O2 against Salmonella and L. innocua. Without cold plasma activation, H2O2 aerosols only reduced populations of Salmonella by 1.54–3.17 log CFU/piece while H2O2 with cold plasma achieved 2.35–5.50 log CFU/piece reductions of Salmonella. L. innocua was more sensitive to the cold plasma-activated H2O2 than Salmonella. Cold plasma activated H2O2 aerosols reduced Listeria populations by more than 5 log CFU/piece on all types and surfaces of fresh produce except for the tomato stem scar area. Without cold plasma, the reductions by H2O2 were only 1.35–3.77 log CFU/piece. Overall, our results demonstrated that cold plasma activation significantly enhanced the efficacy of H2O2 mist against bacteria on fresh produce. •Ionization of H2O2 mist was achieved by passing through a cold plasma.•Cold plasma enhanced the efficacy of H2O2 mist against Salmonella and Listeria.•The ionized H2O2 was more effective against Listeria than against Salmonella.•Bacteria on smooth surfaces were easier to inactivate than those on rough surfaces.