Surface plasma discharges for the preservation of fresh-cut apples: microbial inactivation and quality attributes

Abstract

Sustainable and cost effective food preservation techniques are of industrial, environmental and public health significance globally. A promising means for the gentle but efficient sanitation of foods is the application of cold atmospheric plasma. Here, the preservation of fresh-cut apples was investigated using a gas phase surface discharge plasma (SDP) reactor within an exposure chamber. Results show that the microbial load reduction of the fresh-cut apples was found to be strongly dependent on the storage time and preservation method, e.g. refrigeration (control), SDP-room temperature and SDP-refrigeration (SDP-RF). After 6 d of storage, the microbe load on the apple pieces for the SDF-RF treated groups was found to be significantly lower compared to the refrigeration-stored (4 °C) and the SDP only-processed groups, with the lowest bacterial load on the 120 s SDP-RF stored apple pieces (1.76 CFU g-1). Furthermore, the effects of the preservation method on the quality attributes (weight loss, firmness, and physical appearance), and the surface chemistry directly after cutting and SDP processing, as well as the activities of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase after the different duration of storage were evaluated. This study successfully demonstrates the feasibility of SDP for the effective preservation of fresh-cut apples and contributes to the fundamental understanding of surface plasma-induced effects on the microbial inactivation and postharvest quality of fresh-cut fruits.