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This article presents a general overview of scientific publications in the field of microgreens using bibliometric tools. Data were collected from the Web of Science database (from Clarivate Analytics) in the period from 2004 to 2023, covering 20 years of scientific publications. The results are presented in the form of tables, graphs, and charts to analyze the development of microgreens publications. The countries with the greatest influence on the microgreens topic are the USA, Italy, and India, which have the highest number of publications in the analyzed period with 133, 76, and 38 publications, respectively. On the other hand, the authors with the highest number of publications are Raphael, Y. (University Naples Federico II-Italy), De Pascale, S. (University Naples Federico II-Italy), and Luo, Y. (ARS, Food Quality Laboratory, Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Lab, USDA-USA). The journals with the highest productivity in microgreens are HortScience (American Society of Horticultural Science), Horticulturae (MDPI), and Foods (MDPI), with publication numbers of 49, 27, and 23, respectively. Regarding the relationship of the documents in this study with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the large majority of documents can be linked to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), followed by SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being). As a final remark, the mapping, trends, and findings in this work can help to establish logical paths for researchers in the field of microgreens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The food industry is increasingly focused on maintaining the quality and safety of food products as consumers are becoming more health conscious and seeking fresh, minimally processed foods. However, deterioration and spoilage caused by foodborne pathogens continue to pose significant challenges, leading to decreased shelf life and quality. To overcome this issue, the food industry and researchers are exploring new approaches to prevent microbial growth in food, while preserving its nutritional value and safety. Active packaging, including antimicrobial packaging, has gained considerable attention among current food packaging methods owing to the wide range of materials used, application methods, and their ability to protect various food products. Both direct and indirect methods can be used to improve food safety and quality by incorporating antimicrobial compounds into the food packaging materials. This comprehensive review focuses on natural and synthetic antimicrobial substances and polymer-based films, and their mechanisms and applications in packaging systems. The properties of these materials are compared, and the persistent challenges in the field of active packaging are emphasized. Specifically, there is a need to achieve the controlled release of antimicrobial agents and develop active packaging materials that possess the necessary mechanical and barrier properties, as well as other characteristics essential for ensuring food protection and safety, particularly bio-based packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofilm formation in broiler drinking water systems is a public health concern. Bacterial detachment from the pipes into the drinking water subsequently increases the risk of waterborne transmission and has detrimental effects on animal and human health. The study evaluated the antimicrobial effectiveness of plasma‐activated water bubbles (PAWBs) recirculated under different flow regimes against the mixed‐species biofilms of Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC13311 and Aeromonas australiensis 03‐09 grown on the inner surfaces of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes. A benchtop pipeline model representing broiler drinker lines was developed to compare the biofilm inactivation efficacy of PAWB recirculated at different flow rates, corresponding to Reynold's number of 1000, 2500, and 4000. The synergistic mechanical and oxidative recirculation using PAWB resulted in a higher biofilm inactivation from the pipe walls as compared to recirculation using distilled water alone. Apart from the flow regimes, various parameters including the volume of PAWB circulated, the concentration of the major plasma reactive species, and treatment time affected the susceptibility of the mixed‐species biofilms to PAWB treatment. Under all tested conditions, the bacterial cells were below the detection limit of 1 log CFU/mL in water after PAWB treatments. A better understanding of the hydrodynamic variations prevalent in the drinking water system is important for designing an effective disinfection protocol using PAWB. The results obtained from the study provide important information on the use of PAWB for biofilm control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of certain moulds, prevalent in 60–80% of food crops and many processed products but challenging to eliminate. Consuming mycotoxin-contaminated food and feed can lead to various adverse effects on humans and livestock. Therefore, testing mycotoxin residue levels is critical to ensure food safety. Gold standard analytical methods rely on liquid chromatography coupled with optical detectors or mass spectrometers, which are high-cost with limited capacity. This study reported the successful development of a microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" device to enrich and detect zearalenone in food samples based on the fluorescence quenching effect of quantum dots and selective affinity of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). The dummy template and functional polymer were synthesized and characterized, and the detailed microfluidic chip design and optimization of the flow conditions in the enrichment module were discussed. The device achieved an enrichment factor of 9.6 (±0.5) in 10 min to quantify zearalenone spiked in food with high recoveries (91–105%) at 1–10 mg kg−1, covering the concerned residue levels in the regulations. Each sample-to-answer test took only 20 min, involving 3 min of manual operation and no advanced equipment. This microfluidic device was mostly reusable, with a replaceable detection module compatible with fluorescence measurement using a handheld fluorometer. To our best knowledge, the reported device was the first application of an MIP-based microfluidic sensor for detecting mycotoxin in real food samples, providing a novel, rapid, portable, and cost-effective tool for monitoring mycotoxin contamination for food safety and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of cold plasma (CP) seed treatment is an emerging agricultural technology that exhibits the potential to enhance nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) in legumes. CP is composed of a diverse mixture of excited atoms, molecules, ions, and radicals that have the potential to affect the physical properties of the seed and influence gene expressions that could have a lasting impact on the nodulation, SNF, growth, and yield of legumes. The direct participation of the CP in the nodulation process and its correlation with the escalation of nodules and SNF is still not fully understood. This review discussed four areas in the nodulation and SNF process that can directly or indirectly affect CP seed treatments: root–rhizobia signal exchange pathways, root/shoot growth and development, phytohormone production, and the nitrogen fixation process. We also discuss the potential challenges and future research requirements associated with plasma technology to enhance SNF in legumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the main trichothecenes, that causes health-related issues in humans and animals and imposes considerable financial loss to the food industry each year. Numerous treatments have been reported in the literature on the degradation of DON in food products. These treatments include thermal, chemical, biological/enzymatic, irradiation, light, ultrasound, ozone, and atmospheric cold plasma treatments. Each of these methods has different degradation efficacy and degrades DON by a distinct mechanism, which leads to various degradation byproducts with different toxicity. This manuscript focuses to review the degradation of DON by the aforementioned treatments, the chemical structure and toxicity of the byproducts, and the degradation pathway of DON. Based on the type of treatment, DON can be degraded to norDONs A-F, DON lactones, and ozonolysis products or transformed into de-epoxy deoxynivalenol, DON-3-glucoside, 3-acetyl-DON, 7-acetyl-DON, 15-acetyl-DON, 3-keto-DON, or 3-epi-DON. DON is a major problem for the grain industry and the studies focusing on DON degradation mechanisms could be helpful to select the best method and overcome the DON contamination in grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Ready‐to‐eat fruit and vegetable products have gained tremendous popularity in recent years. The main challenges associated with these minimally processed products are their short shelf life and high food safety concerns. In this study, our goal was to develop an integrated process to both reduce the Salmonella population by >5 log CFU g−1) and to reduce polyphenol oxidase activity, followed by quickly cooling the product. We compared the effect of a sequential treatment of dipping in citric acid (CA) followed by cold plasma (CP) treatment on the inactivation of Salmonella Typhimurium, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, browning, total phenolic content and the moisture loss of cut apples during the plasma‐integrated low‐pressure cooling (PiLPC) process. RESULTS: The greatest inactivation of Salmonella (5.68 log CFU g−1) and the highest PPO inactivation (78%) were observed after dipping cut apples in 5% CA, followed by 3 min of CP treatment. The color of cut apples remained relatively unchanged, with a fresh‐like appearance during 7 days of storage at 4 °C after this combined treatment. Although the low‐pressure cooling time was increased when samples were pre‐dipped in CA, related to those undipped, the moisture loss was reduced by more than 50% during the PiLPC process. No significant reduction in phenolic content was observed during the PiLPC when the samples were pre‐dipped in 5% CA. CONCLUSION: These results indicate the potential of this integrated process for the inactivation of endogenous food enzymes and bacterial pathogens in fresh‐cut apples. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is an emerging technology in the food industry with a huge antimicrobial potential to improve safety and extend the shelf life of food products. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is a popular approach for generating ACP. Thanks to the numerous advantages of DBD ACP, it is proving to be successful in a number of applications, including microbial decontamination of foods. The antimicrobial efficacy of DBD ACP is influenced by multiple factors. This review presents an overview of ACP sources, with an emphasis on DBD, and an analysis of their antimicrobial efficacy in foods in open atmosphere and in-package modes. Specifically, the influence of process, product, and microbiological factors influencing the antimicrobial efficacy of DBD ACP are critically reviewed. DBD ACP is a promising technology that can improve food safety with minimal impact on food quality under optimal conditions. Once the issues pertinent to scale-up of plasma sources are appropriately addressed, the DBD ACP technology will find wider adaptation in food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, Salmonella-related foodborne illness accounts for more than 88,000 cases annually. Poultry products represent one of the major vectors for the zoonotic transmission of Salmonella. The majority of the current disinfection strategies that are applied in the poultry industry involve the use of diverse chemical antimicrobial agents; however, knowledge about the efficacy of novel antimicrobial technologies such as atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) and the potential of hurdle interventions is very limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the synergetic effect of ACP and peracetic acid (PAA) as a hurdle antimicrobial intervention to reduce Salmonella enterica Typhimurium on raw poultry meat. Raw poultry meat samples were inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium followed by the application of different treatments consisting of ACP and PAA (100 and 200 ppm) alone as well as in combination. Different hurdle interventions using PAA and ACP treatments resulted in significant (P ≤ 0.05) reductions in Salmonella Typhimurium, ranging from 2.3 to 5.3 log CFU/cm2, in comparison to PAA treatments alone with 100 or 200 ppm or ACP treatment alone, resulting in the reduction of Salmonella populations by 0.6, 1.3, and 2.3 CFU/cm2, respectively. Treatments involving application of PAA followed immediately by ACP and ACP followed by PAA resulted in the highest (P ≤ 0.05) reduction in Salmonella by 4.7 and 5.3 log CFU/cm2, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy images indicated that combined treatments resulted in destruction of Salmonella cells with visible cellular deformation and loss of cellular integrity. Color and moisture content of poultry meat samples were affected; thus, for large-scale application, further research needs to be done for optimizing this hurdle intervention. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the synergistic effect of ACP and PAA and its potential application for the safety of poultry products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several low water activity (aw) foods have been recently associated with Salmonella related outbreaks and recalls. The use of high intensity light pulses generated by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is a novel approach to achieve microbial inactivation. This study compares the ability of light emitted by LEDs at wavelengths of 275, 365, 395, and 455 nm to inactivate microorganisms at different environmental relative humidity (RH) conditions. The exposure to LED radiant energy of 1199 J/cm² at wavelengths of 365, 395, and 455 nm resulted in Salmonella reductions of 2.22, 2.48, and 1.61 logs CFU/g, respectively. Reductions in Salmonella cell counts of 1.07, 2.42, 3.67, and 2.64 CFU/g were observed in wheat flour after 60 min of 275, 365, 395, and 455 nm LED treatments, respectively, at 25 °C and an RH of 75%. Significant drying, oxidation of gluten proteins, and changes in the secondary structure of gluten were observed after LED treatments at all the light wavelengths tested. Significant color change of wheat flour was observed for all wavelengths LED except 275 nm. The results of this study will aid selection of LED wavelengths appropriate for inactivating microorganisms in low aw foods. This study presents the potential of LED treatment for simultaneous drying and microbial decontamination of foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chickpea protein (CPI) is a promising dietary protein and potential substitute for soy protein in food product development due to its high protein content and low allergenicity. However, CPI possesses denser tertiary and quaternary structures and contains certain amount of anti-nutritional factors, both of which constrain its functional properties and digestibility. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJ) as a non-thermal method for enhancing the functional characteristics and digestibility of CPI. In this study, the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generated by the APPJ treatment led to protein oxidation and increased carbonyl and di-tyrosine contents. At the same time, the secondary, tertiary and microstructural structures of CPI were changed. The solubility, water holding capacity, fat absorption capacity, emulsifying capacity and foaming capacity of CPI were significantly improved after 30 s APPJ treatment, and a higher storage modulus in rheology was observed. Additionally, it was observed that the in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of APPJ-treated CPI increased significantly from 44.85 ± 0.6 % to 50.2 ± 0.59 % following in vitro simulated gastric and intestinal digestion, marking a noteworthy improvement of 11.93 %. These findings indicate that APPJ processing can enhance the functional and digestive properties of CPI through structural modification and expand its potential applications within the food industry., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Biosorbents for water remediation were prepared using keratin biopolymer cross-linked with nanochitosan (NC). Keratin proteins were dissolved using reducing agents and NC was incorporated with concentrations of 1, 3 and 5 % individually into the keratin solution. The mixtures were thermally treated at 75°C overnight, which promoted the formation of ester bonds between the hydroxyl groups of nanochitosan and the carboxylic groups of the keratin biopolymer. The resulting keratin derived biosorbents were characterized by X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy, confirming the cross-linking between keratin and nanochitosan. The chicken feathers keratin (CFK) surface modifications with nanochitosan were examined with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, scanning and transmission electron microscopies. The sorption capacity of biosorbents was tested for eight different metals simultaneously at different contact times (15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 280 mins) and pH (5.5, 7.5 and 8.5), including arsenic, selenium, chromium, nickel, cobalt, lead, cadmium and zinc, using simulated industrial wastewater water containing 600 μgl -1 concentration of each metal. The synthesized environmentally benign biosorbents exhibited biosorption of metals upto 98 % at pH 7.5 and a contact time of 24 h, showing their potential for industrial wastewater remediation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

In this study, we employed a facile method to synthesize feather keratin derived biosorbents using water dispersed graphene oxide. The successful cross-linking of feather keratin with graphene oxide was investigated through X-ray photoelectrons spectroscopy (XPS), scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The modifications resulted in increased surface area of the keratin proteins with substantial morphological changes including the development of cracked and rough patches on the surface. The chicken feather keratin/graphene oxide based biosorbents exhibited excellent performance for the simultaneous removal of metal oxyanions including arsenic (As), selenium (Se), chromium (Cr) and cations including nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) up to 99%, from polluted synthetic water containing 600 μgL -1 of each metal concentration in 24 h. The insights into the biosorption mechanism revealed that the electrostatic interaction, chelation and complexation primarily contributed to the removal of multiple heavy metal ions in a single treatment. This study has demonstrated that modification of chicken feather keratin with graphene oxide is an effective way to improve its sorption capacity for removing multiple trace metal ions from contaminated water., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Salmonella, a foodborne pathogen, has been frequently associated with recalls of fresh food products, including poultry meat products. Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is a novel non-thermal technology, which has potential to reduce pathogens in food products. This study demonstrates the synergistic interactions of food grade organic acids (i.e., lactic acid (LA) or gallic acid (GA)) and ACP to inactivate Salmonella enterica Typhimurium ATCC 13311 inoculated on polycarbonate membrane filter paper and poultry meat surface. Organic acids were used in the form of a spray to enhance dispersion on samples surface. The sequential treatment of organic acid followed by ACP synergistically reduced S. Typhimurium on poultry meat surface. Irrespective of the type of organic acid, an average reduction of more than 3.5 log CFU/cm 2 in S. Typhimurium on filter paper was obtained, when a combination of 10 mM LA or GA with an ACP exposure of 30 s was tested. However, the individual treatments of LA, GA, and ACP resulted in only 0.4, 0.3, 1.2 log CFU/cm 2 reduction in S. Typhimurium, respectively. On poultry meat surface, a higher level of organic acid concentration (i.e., 50 mM) in combination with 30 s ACP was required to achieve more than 2.5 log CFU/cm 2 reduction in S. Typhimurium. Our investigation on inactivation mechanisms revealed that the sequential treatment of LA or GA with ACP resulted in a significantly higher level of membrane permeability and membrane lipid peroxidation in S. Typhimurium cells. Additionally, the combined treatment significantly reduced the cell metabolic activity and affected the intracellular reactive oxygen species level of S. Typhimurium. In summary, this study demonstrated the potential synergistic benefits of combining organic acids and ACP to achieve a higher level of bacterial inactivation., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Foodborne outbreaks and recalls of pathogen-contaminated low-moisture foods (LMFs, foods with water activity at 25 °C < 0.85) have led to numerous scientific studies on bacterial persistence, as well as newly developed industrial interventions. Conducting microbial tests of LMFs, lab tests, or validation studies in pilot plans requires complete information on protocols and parameters that need to be aware of-in particular, understanding how factors influence the thermal resistance of bacterial pathogen in LMFs is critical in designing any thermal processes. This review provides detailed information on the general protocols of microbial studies of LMFs: from pertinent pathogen identification to microbial validation studies. In particular, it reviewed the detailed procedures (e.g., lawn-harvest method), analytical protocols (e.g., recovery and enumeration of pathogens in LMFs), and specialized tools that have been utilized (even widely accepted) in laboratory-based microbial studies of LMFs. It also summarized the factors that influence the microbial validation studies. This article could support the intervention of existing pasteurization processes in the LMF industry, promoting the microbial safety of LMFs., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Pea proteins are increasingly used as an alternative for soy protein, however, structuring of pea protein remains a challenge due to its low gelling capacity. This study reports a pea protein pre-treatment that combines atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) and pH-shifting to improve pea protein gelling property. Specifically, the pea protein concentrate was treated by ACP at pH 12 for 10 min, followed by pH-shifting to neutral and spray-drying to prepare PPC treated powders. Although, pea protein concentrate did not form a self-standing gel until 95 °C for 60 min, PPC treated suspension (14 wt%) formed gels with good mechanical properties (compressive strength: 2.81 kPa) by heating at 70 °C within 10-20 min. The strength of the gel made from PPC treated was further increased to 3.70 and 5.53 kPa when raising the temperature to 80 and 90 °C, respectively. The protein characterizations revealed that the combined ACP and pH-shifting treatment partially unfolded pea protein by altering the tertiary structure, and then the active species produced by ACP facilitated the formation of protein aggregates with increased surface hydrophobicity. During heating, the aggregates served as active building blocks to form more ordered three-dimensional gel networks via hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding. The greatly increased gel strength and the powder form will allow pea protein to be widely used as a gelling ingredient in many food formulations. The capacity to form gels at a reduced temperature than pea protein denaturation temperature (∼95 °C) will enable food texture development by conventional cooking., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Water sorption isotherms of bacteria reflect the water activity with the change of moisture content of bacteria at a specific temperature. The temperature-dependency of water activity change can help to understand the thermal resistance of bacteria during a thermal process. Thermal resistance of bacteria in low-moisture foods may differ significantly depending on the physiological characteristics of microorganisms, including cell structure, existence of biofilms, and growth state. Previous studies demonstrated that the incremental change of a w in bacterial cells during thermal treatments resulted in changes in their thermotolerance. In this study, a pathogen associated with low-moisture foods outbreaks, Salmonella Enteritidis PT30 (in planktonic and biofilm forms), and its validated surrogate, Enterococcus faecium, were lyophilized and their water sorption isotherms (WSI) at 20, 40, and 60 °C were determined by using a vapor sorption analyzer and simulated by the Guggenheim, Anderson and De Boer model (GAB). The published thermal death times at 80 °C (D 80 °C -values) of these bacteria in low-moisture environments were related with their WSI-derived a w changes. The results showed that planktonic E. faecium and biofilms of Salmonella, exhibiting higher thermal resistance compared to the planktonic cultures of Salmonella, had a smaller increase in a w when thermally treated from 20 to 60 °C in sealed test cells. The computational modeling also showed that when temperature increased from 20 to 60 °C, with an increase in relative humidity from 10% to 60%, freeze-dried planktonic E. faecium and Salmonella cells would equilibrate to their surrounding environments in 0.15 s and 0.25 s, respectively, suggesting a rapid equilibration of bacterial cells to their microenvironment. However, control of bacteria with different cell structure and growth state would require further attentions on process design adjustment because of their different water sorption characteristics., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Decontamination of low water activity (a w ) foods, like pet foods is a challenging task. Treatment using light emitting diode (LED) is an emerging decontamination method, that can induce photodynamic inactivation in bacteria. The objective of this study was to understand the effect of selected product and process parameters on the antibacterial efficacy of treatment using light pulses of 455 nm wavelength on dry powdered Salmonella and pet foods equilibrated to 0.75 a w . The surface temperature increase, weight loss, and a w decrease in the samples were determined after LED treatments with different doses. S. Typhimurium on pet foods showed better sensitivity to 455 nm LED treatment than the powdered S. Typhimurium. For instance, 455 nm LED treatment with 785.7 J/cm 2 dose produced a log reduction of 1.44 log (CFU/g) in powdered S. Typhimurium population compared to 3.22 log (CFU/g) on pet food. The LED treatment was less effective against 5-strain cocktail of Salmonella in low a w pet foods. The treated samples showed significant reduction in weight and a w showing the heating and drying potential of 455 nm LED treatment. Significant lipid oxidation was observed in the treated pet foods. Overall, the dose, treatment time, and sample type influenced the Salmonella inactivation efficacy of 455 nm LED treatment in low a w conditions., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Salmonella contamination of low-water activity (a w ) foods poses a serious concern worldwide. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of drying conditions, food composition, and water activity on the desiccation tolerance and thermal resistance of S. Enteritidis FUA1946, S. Senftenberg ATCC43845 and S. Typhimurium ATCC13311 in pet food, binder formulation, and skim milk powder. The samples were wet inoculated with the individual Salmonella strains and were equilibrated to a w 0.33 and 0.75, followed by an isothermal treatment at 70 °C. The thermal inactivation data was fitted to the Weibull model. Irrespective of the a w , food composition and physical structure of the selected foods, strain S. Enteritidis FUA1946 displayed the highest desiccation and thermal resistance, followed by S. Senftenberg ATCC43845 and S. Typhimurium ATCC13311. The food matrix and strain type significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the thermal resistance of microorganisms in foods along with a w change during thermal treatments. To further study the effect of food composition, an additional set of experiments using dry inoculation of the resistant Salmonella strain in the low-a w foods was designed. Significant (p < 0.05) matrix-dependent interaction on Salmonella reduction was observed. The water adsorption isotherms of selected low-a w foods were measured at 20 and 70 °C to relate the thermal inactivation kinetics with the change in the a w . The characterization of thermal resistance of the Salmonella serovars in low-a w products with different compositions and a w in this study may be used for the validation of thermal challenge studies., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Fresh food products, including fruits, vegetables, raw meat, and poultry, have been associated with safety concerns and quality issues, owing to their susceptibility to rapid deterioration and microbial contamination. This research aimed to develop an integrated process to simultaneously cool and decontaminate high moisture food products. Cold plasma (CP), a novel decontamination technology, was integrated with vacuum cooling to develop a plasma integrated low-pressure cooling (PiLPC) process. To evaluate the rapid cooling and microbial inactivation efficacies of the PiLPC process, fresh cut Granny Smith apples andSalmonella entericaserovarTyphimurium ATCC 13311 were used as the model food and microorganism, respectively. The influence of process parameters including treatment time, pressure, and post-treatment storage, on the inactivation ofSalmonellaon fresh-cut apples was investigated.Inactivation ofSalmonellaincreased with treatment time, with a maximum reduction of 3.21 log CFU/g after 5 min of CP treatment at atmospheric pressure. Inactivationof Salmonellaafter CP treatment at 200 mbar was not significantly different from that at atmospheric pressure for the same treatment time. CP treatment of 3 min at 200 mbar followed by a post-treatment storage of 3 days at 4 °C reduced the totalSalmonellapopulation on cut apple slices by > 6 log CFU/g. The temperature of the cut apples was reduced from room temperature to 2 °Cin 3 to 9 min depending on the sample surface area to volume ratio, when the pressure was reducedto 7 mbar. However, this PiLPC process resulted in moisture loss in cut apples. The results of this study indicate the potential of the PiLPC process for rapid cooling and microbial inactivation of fresh food products in a single process., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Phytic acid (PA) is the primary phosphorus reserve in cereals and legumes which serves the biosynthesis needs of growing tissues during germination. It is generally considered to be an anti-nutritional factor found in grains because it can bind to minerals, proteins, and starch, limiting their bioavailability. However, this same mineral binding property can also confer a number of health benefits such as reducing the risk of certain cancers, supporting heart health, and managing renal stones. In addition, the ability of PA to bind minerals allows it to be used in certain food quality applications such as stabilizing the green color of vegetables, preventing lipid peroxidation, and reducing enzymatic browning in fruits/vegetables. These beneficial properties create a potential for added-value applications in the utilization of PA in many new areas. Many possible processing techniques for the preparation of raw materials in the food industry can be used to reduce the concentration of PA in foods to mitigate its anti-nutritional effects. In turn, the recovered PA by-products could be available for novel uses. In this review, a general overview of the beneficial and anti-nutritional effects of PA will be discussed and then dephytinization methods will be explained., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Low-moisture foods (LMF with water activity, a w  < 0.85) including pet foods and black pepper powder have consistently been associated with foodborne disease caused by Salmonella enterica. Increased heat resistance and prolonged survival at low-moisture conditions, however, remain major challenges to achieve effective inactivation of Salmonella in low-moisture foods. At low water activity (a w ) conditions, heat resistance of Salmonella is greatly enhanced when compared to high a w conditions. This study aimed to quantify the effect of a w on the heat resistance of Salmonella enterica in pet food pellets and black pepper powder. Pet food pellets were inoculated with two strains of heat resistant S. enterica and black pepper powder was inoculated with a 5-strain cocktail of Salmonella. Both inoculated food samples were equilibrated at 0.33, 0.54, and 0.75 a w in controlled humidity chambers. Inoculated pet food pellets and black pepper powder in closed aluminum cells were heat treated at specific temperatures for selected times. The results showed that the Weibull model fitted well the inactivation data. At a specific temperature, the rate of inactivation increased with the increase in the a w from 0.33 to 0.75, and the 3-log reduction times decreased for Salmonella in both food samples with the increase in a w . Water adsorption isotherms of pet food pellets and black pepper powder at initial and treatment temperatures were developed to understand the change in a w during heat treatments. The change in a w during heat treatment was dependent on the type of food matrix, which possibly influenced the thermal inactivation of Salmonella in pet food pellets and black pepper powder. The quantitative analysis of heat reduction of Salmonella with respect to a w aids in selection of the appropriate initial a w to develop effective heat treatment protocols for adequate reduction of Salmonella in pet foods and black pepper powder., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Listeria monocytogenes is often responsible for postprocessing contamination of ready-to-eat (RTE) products including cooked ham. As an emerging technology, atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) has the potential to inactivate L. monocytogenes in packaged RTE meats. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of treatment time, modified atmosphere gas compositions (MAP), ham formulation, and post-treatment storage (1 and 7 days at 4 °C) on the reduction of a five-strain cocktail of L. monocytogenes and quality changes in ham subjected to in-package ACP treatment. Initial average cells population on ham surfaces were 8 log CFU/cm 2 . The ACP treatment time and gas composition significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the inactivation of L. monocytogenes, irrespective of ham formulations. When MAP1 (20% O 2 + 40% CO 2 + 40% N 2 ) was used, there was a significantly higher log reduction (>2 log reduction) in L. monocytogenes on ham in comparison to MAP2 (50% CO 2 + 50% N 2 ) and MAP3 (100% CO 2 ), irrespective of ham formulation. Addition of preservatives (that is, 0.1% sodium diacetate and 1.4% sodium lactate) or bacteriocins (that is, 0.05% of a partially purified culture ferment from Carnobacterium maltaromaticum UAL 307) did not significantly reduce cell counts of L. monocytogenes after ACP treatment. Regardless of type of ham, storage of 24 hr after ACP treatment significantly reduced cells counts of L. monocytogenes to approximately 4 log CFU/cm 2 . Following 7 days of storage after ACP treatment, L. monocytogenes counts were below the detection limit (>6 log reduction) when samples were stored in MAP1. However, there were significant changes in lipid oxidation and color after post-treatment storage. In conclusion, the antimicrobial efficacy of ACP is strongly influenced by gas composition inside the package and post-treatment storage. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Surface contamination of RTE ham with L. monocytogenes may occur during processing steps such as slicing and packaging. In-package ACP is an emerging nonthermal technology, which can be used as a postpackaging decontamination step in industrial settings. This study demonstrated the influence of in-package gas composition, treatment time, post-treatment storage, and ham formulation on L. monocytogenes inactivation efficacy of ACP. Results of present study will be helpful to optimize in-package ACP treatment and storage conditions to reduce L. monocytogenes, while maintaining the quality of ham., (© 2020 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

Salmonella spp. is one of the top foodborne pathogens associated with low-moisture foods and they exhibit significant resistance to conventional thermal treatments. UV light pulses emitted from light emitting diode (LED) has shown antimicrobial potential in high-moisture foods and water. However, limited information is available about the antimicrobial potential of UV light with different wavelengths, including 395 nm in low-moisture foods. The objectives of this study were to investigate the antimicrobial potential of 395 nm pulsed LED light in wheat flour and the resulting quality changes. This study demonstrated a maximum 2.91 log reduction of Salmonella cocktail in wheat flour treated with 395 nm pulsed LED for 60 min in a semi-closed system. Oxidation occurred in wheat flour after 30 and 60 min exposure to the 395 nm LED, which subsequently led to bleaching, and polymerization of gluten components through disulphide linkage. The water holding capacity of gluten was reduced by oxidation, and the contents of secondary structures were altered significantly after pulsed LED treatment, but the rheological properties were not deteriorated. The disulfide bond formation naturally happens during dough formation and the oxidation triggered by pulsed LED treatment may play a role on accelerating this process. The 395 nm pulsed LED treatment could be a promising decontamination technology for wheat flour with an additional benefit of bleaching of the flour without chemicals. INDUSTRIAL RELEVANCE: A number of foodborne outbreaks and recalls have been related to low-moisture foods in these decades and recently several outbreaks were reported due to the occurrence of Salmonella in wheat flour. However, it is difficult to solve this problem through conventional thermal approaches because of the increased thermal resistance of Salmonella at low water activity environment. The emerging LED light source can produce light with monochromatic wavelengths without the use of mercury vapor lamps. It also has high durability, low heat generation, and is relatively easy to be adapted in an existing production line. Therefore, there is a great potential of using certain UV wavelengths emitted from LED to disinfect the low-moisture foods in food industries. To the best of our knowledge, no research was conducted on decontamination of wheat flour by using LEDs and only limited studies are available on the influence of pulsed LED treatment on food quality. The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using 395 nm pulsed LED treatment as a novel tool for decontamination of Salmonella in a low-moisture food product (wheat flour) with industrial feasibility, and investigate the influence of the pulsed LED treatment on quality changes in the product., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Ready-to-eat (RTE) deli meat has been linked to several Listeria monocytogenes associated recalls. Recent studies demonstrated the potential antimicrobial effects of atmospheric cold plasma treatment on various food surfaces including RTE meat products. However, the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, determining the efficacy of cold plasma to reduce Listeria has not been reported. This study investigated the influence of rosemary extract, salt (% NaCl), and treatment temperature on the efficacy of plasma to reduce numbers of L. innocua on RTE ham. The effect of post-treatment storage on L. innocua inactivation was also investigated. When the cold plasma treatment temperature was 4 °C, we observed a significant reduction in L. innocua of 1.75 and 1.51 log CFU/cm 2 on 1% and 3% NaCl ham surface without rosemary extract respectively, after 180 s treatment. At a treatment temperature of 23 °C, the L. innocua cells were reduced by 1.78 and 1.43 log CFU/cm 2 , respectively on these surfaces after 180 s. No significant effects of salt concentration and treatment temperature were observed on L. innocua inactivation during cold plasma treatment of ham. The post treatment storage at 4 °C for 6 h after 180 s of plasma treatment enhanced further reduction of L. innocua on 1% NaCl ham without rosemary. We also observed the increased concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) equivalent lipid oxidation of plasma treated samples and was significantly higher (1.53 MDA mg/ kg ham) compared to untreated samples (0.92 MDA mg/kg ham). However, no significant differences in surface color parameters, L* and b* values were observed after plasma treatment, except a significant increase in a* values. The water content of plasma exposed samples decreased significantly for all treatment conditions whereas the water activity values were not changed significantly. In conclusion, the atmospheric cold plasma could be applied as a means for surface decontamination of RTE ham. However, the drying and oxidation of ham should be controlled in an open atmospheric plasma treatment condition., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Cold plasma treatment is a promising intervention in food processing to boost product safety and extend the shelf-life. The activated chemical species of cold plasma can act rapidly against micro-organisms at ambient temperatures without leaving any known chemical residues. This review presents an overview of the action of cold plasma against molds and mycotoxins, the underlying mechanisms, and applications for ensuring food safety and quality. The cold plasma species act on multiple sites of a fungal cell resulting in loss of function and structure, and ultimately cell death. Likewise, the species cause chemical breakdown of mycotoxins through various pathways resulting in degradation products that are known to be less toxic. We argue that the preliminary reports from cold plasma research point at good potential of plasma for shelf-life extension and quality retention of foods. Some of the notable food sectors which could benefit from antimycotic and antimycotoxin efficacy of cold plasma include, the fresh produce, food grains, nuts, spices, herbs, dried meat and fish industries., (© 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.)