Impact of cold plasma-mediated treatment on coated and packaged ‘Monterey’ strawberries during cold storage

Abstract

Cold plasma technology has been used within the food industry for surface decontamination. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of low-pressure cold plasma (CP) treatment to decontaminate sodium alginate-coated and packaged ‘Monterey’ strawberries. Cold plasma treatment was carried out at 80 kV for 5 min. After treatments, samples were stored at 5 °C for six days, and samples were taken at regular intervals for microbial and visual quality analysis. Results obtained showed that coated strawberries without CP treatment packed in clamshell trays had a better visual appearance than the other treatments and control at the end of storage. Application of sodium alginate coating and CP treatment on strawberries resulted in ≈2 Log reduction in yeast and mould counts at the end of storage in comparison to the control (p < 0.05).

Keywords:

• Fragaria × ananassa
• sodium alginate coating
• spoilage micororganisms
• surface disinfection
• visual quality