Effectiveness of various plasma treatments on nutrient retention and food quality: A comprehensive review of applications and impact

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