Impact of Indirect Cold Plasma Combined with Modified Atmosphere Packaging on Quality Attributes of Fresh Produce

Abstract

The microbial contamination and postharvest metabolism often result in the quality deterioration of fresh produce. To reduce the microbial load without compromising quality parameters of fresh produce, a combination of indirect cold plasma with modified atmosphere packaging was developed for preservation of cherry tomato, cucumber, and lettuce in this study. The impact on microbial decontamination and retardance of quality deterioration was investigated based on the evaluation of microbial proliferation and quality parameters. The combined treatment not only effectively reduced microbial load and rendered microbial proliferation at lower levels but also reduced the respiration rate by 29.1% compared with the control group. In addition, the combined treatment contributed to delaying the enzymatic browning process and scavenging excessive reactive oxygen species. The combined treatment extended the shelf life of fresh produce by an additional 2 days in this study. In brief, the combined treatment can be used as an alternative approach for microbial decontamination of fresh produce without adversely affecting quality attributes of fresh produce, assisting in extension of shelf life.