Food container employing a cold atmospheric plasma source for prolonged preservation of plant and animal origin food products

Panagiotis Dimitrakellis; Marianna Giannoglou; Angelos Zeniou; Evangelos Gogolides; George Katsaros

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2020.101177

Food container employing a cold atmospheric plasma source for prolonged preservation of plant and animal origin food products

MethodsX. 2020 Dec 8:8:101177. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2020.101177. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Panagiotis Dimitrakellis¹, Marianna Giannoglou², Angelos Zeniou¹, Evangelos Gogolides¹, George Katsaros²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, NCSR "Demokritos", Aghia Paraskevi 15341, Attiki, Greece.
² Institute of Technology of Agricultural Products, Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DEMETER, Lykovrissi 14123, Attica, Greece.

Abstract

Cold Atmospheric Plasma is a non-thermal processing technology with great potential for application to food products as it can effectively reduce the microbial load, leading to substantial shelf-life extension. Herein, we present an easy-to-build and cost-effective Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (SDBD) plasma source adjusted to the plastic lid of a common commercial food container made of transparent glass. Implementation and evaluation of plasma treatment in real perishable food products such as sea bream fillets, fresh-cut rocket salads and fresh whole strawberries showed that such device might be efficiently used in-storage for the extension of their shelf-life.•Easy-to-build and cost-effective SDBD plasma source adjusted in a food container for generation of antimicrobial RONS in proximity to treated food product•Treatment of perishable food products by reducing their initial microbial load•In-storage treatment efficient for perishable food products shelf-life extension.

Keywords: Cold atmospheric plasma; Decontamination; Food container; Food sanitization; Shelf-life extension; Surface dielectric barrier discharge.