| 1. |
- Capelli, Filippo, et al.
(författare)
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Decontamination of food packages from SARS-COV-2 RNA with a cold plasma-assisted system
- 2021
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Ingår i: Applied Sciences (Switzerland). - : MDPI AG. - 2076-3417. ; 11:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The accidental contamination of food and food packaging surfaces with SARS-CoV-2 is of increasing concern among scientists and consumers, particularly in relation to fresh foods that are consumed without further cooking. The use of chemical sanitizers is often not suitable for these kinds of commodities; therefore, a non-thermal sanitation technology could help to increase safety in relation to the food supply chain. Cold plasma has proven to be a promising strategy for virus inactivation. This research is aimed at evaluating the ability of a cold plasma sanitation system to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 RNA on packaged foods. Two different plastic materials were investigated and subjected to 5- and 10-min exposure to plasma after experimental inoculum of the RNA. In addition to viral degradation, possible changes in the performance of the materials were evaluated. Shelf-life of the foods, after exposure of the packages to plasma, was also investigated. Results showed that 10 min of exposure was sufficient to almost completely eliminate the viral RNA from package surfaces. The treatment did not produce any significant variation in packaging material performance or the shelf-life of the tested packaged products, indicating the potentiality of this treatment for the decontamination of packaged products.
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| 2. |
- Demir, Eda, et al.
(författare)
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Reversible electroporation caused by pulsed electric field – Opportunities and challenges for the food sector
- 2023
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Ingår i: Trends in Food Science and Technology. - 0924-2244. ; 139
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The application of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) to food may result in reversible or irreversible electroporation of cell membranes, depending on whether cell homeostasis is restored after resealing. Restoration of homeostasis upon reversible electroporation implies the recovery of the pre-pulse transmembrane potential and the restoration of cell metabolic functions. Enhanced membrane permeability caused by reversible electroporation would allow impregnation of cells with foreign molecules and/or stress-induced metabolic reactions. The impregnation of cells and the induction of stress in cells could open new opportunities for the application of PEF in the food industry. Scope and approach: Most of the published literature on the application of PEF in food systems focuses on the irreversible process, mainly targeting cold pasteurization or mass/heat transfer enhancement. This review focuses on the application of reversible electroporation to enhance metabolic production of secondary metabolites, to accelerate seed germination and fermentation, and as pre-treatment prior to freezing and drying. Finally, the challenges for industrial application of this technology are discussed. Key findings and conclusions: The application of reversible electroporation as a pre-treatment prior to unit operations in the food industry has the potential to improve the quality of the final product in terms of structure, nutritional value or increased productivity. However, its industrial application faces several challenges, related to difficulties in process optimization, scale-up and equipment design. Therefore, significant efforts are still required to apply reversible electroporation on an industrial scale in the future.
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