Application of Cold Plasma in Food Science: A Novel Technique

Abstract

Fresh and safe food is the demand of customers in past decade, to fulfill this demand various novel technologies are being employed on food, one such technique is being discussed in this review i.e., Cold Plasma. Recently cold plasma has proven to be a budding technique primarily in food preservation sector. The main highlight of this technique is minimum heat damage, also the processing time to kill pathogens is considerably low as compared to other techniques. It is being utilized in killing pathogenic micro-organisms in various sectors of food. In this review we will see the mechanism behind generation of cold plasma as well as its types. The paper also summarizes its effect on different food sectors such as milk, meat, packaging, fruits, vegetables etc. Cold plasma is also being utilized in altering the food components as well as packaging materials. Despite being a promising option, the technique still is under scrutiny due to challenges faced by researchers which will be discussed briefly.