Evaluation of Cronobacter sakazakii inactivation and physicochemical property changes of non-fat dry milk powder by cold atmospheric plasma

Dongjie Chen; Peng Peng; Nan Zhou; Yanling Cheng; Min Min; Yiwei Ma; Qingqing Mao; Paul Chen; Chi Chen; Roger Ruan

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.03.149

Evaluation of Cronobacter sakazakii inactivation and physicochemical property changes of non-fat dry milk powder by cold atmospheric plasma

Food Chem. 2019 Aug 30:290:270-276. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.03.149. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Authors

Dongjie Chen¹, Peng Peng², Nan Zhou², Yanling Cheng², Min Min², Yiwei Ma³, Qingqing Mao³, Paul Chen², Chi Chen³, Roger Ruan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Center for Biorefining and Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States; Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States.
² Department of Center for Biorefining and Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States.
³ Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States.
⁴ Department of Center for Biorefining and Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States; Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States. Electronic address: ruanx001@umn.edu.

PMID: 31000047
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.03.149

Abstract

Cronobacter sakazakii can cause life-threatening infections in neonates. Exposure to contaminated powdered food, especially milk powder, is a major route for C. sakazakii infection. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is well known as a non-thermal method for inactivating microbial pathogens. This study evaluates the effectiveness of CAP on C. sakazakii in non-fat dry milk (NFDM) powder using a fluidized reaction system. The CAP treatments for 20-120 s led to 1.17-3.27 log₁₀ reductions of C. sakazakii. C. sakazakii inactivation increased with increasing flow rate from 8 to 20 L/min. In terms of quality attributes of NFDM after the CAP treatments, no noticeable color changes (ΔE < 1.5) were observed. Moreover, no significant changes in crystallinity, amino acid composition, or phenolic content occurred following a 120s-CAP treatment. These results indicate that this fluidized reaction system combined with CAP can provide an effective antimicrobial activity with minimal effects on some physicochemical properties of NFDM powder.

Keywords: Cold atmospheric plasma; Cronobacter sakazakii; Milk powder; Non-thermal process; Physicochemical properties analysis.

MeSH terms

Amino Acids / analysis
Animals
Atmospheric Pressure
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Cronobacter sakazakii / drug effects*
Cronobacter sakazakii / metabolism
Crystallization
Desiccation
Humans
Infant Formula / chemistry
Infant Formula / microbiology
Infant, Newborn
Mass Spectrometry
Milk / chemistry*
Plasma Gases / chemistry
Plasma Gases / pharmacology*
Temperature

Substances

Amino Acids
Plasma Gases