Effectiveness of various plasma treatments on nutrient retention and food quality: A comprehensive review of applications and impact
Rohit Gupta, Rafeeya Shams, Adity Bahndral, Kshirod Kumar Dash, Prashant Anil Pawase, Ayaz Mukarram Shaikh, Béla Kovács
Abstract
The growing need to find non-thermal processing technology has increased the pace of research on minimal processing, high-quality, and safe foods. Cold plasma (CP) has been one of such techniques, and it is promising as an environmentally friendly and energy efficient method with the ability to decontaminate food surfaces without affecting nutritional and sensory properties. This review thoroughly addresses the concepts, operation and various discharge setups of CP such as dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), corona discharge (CD), plasma jet (PJ), gliding arc discharge (GAD), microwave plasma (MP) and plasma-activated water (PAW) and its application prospects in food processing and preservation. The principles of the plasma generation and microbial inactivation mechanism are described, and it is highlighted that the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) have a significant role in the process of adequately decontaminating. The effects of CP in the critical alteration of the major food components: proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, bioactive compounds are critically discussed, which proves the ability of the compound to change the physicochemical, rheological, and functional properties without significant thermal damage. Besides, the review indicates the versatility of CP in increasing shelf life, enhancing extraction performance, increasing starch and protein structures, and countering microbial and enzymatic degradation. Plasma efficacy is also addressed in terms of factors such as processing parameters, gas composition and characteristics of food matrix. In spite of the enormous industrial potential of CP, issues of equipment design, discharge uniformity and regulatory validation still exist. All in all, CP is a viable and controllable technology that unites food safety and quality preservation, and it gives a modernized alternative to traditional thermal treatments as well as establishing the future generations of food processing technologies.