Gas Plasma Decontamination of Fresh Foods

This project will evaluate the suitability of cold atmospheric plasmas for treating fruit and vegetable products with the following objectives:<OL> <LI> To maximise plasma lethality towards food-borne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria under conditions in which they exist on foods. <LI> To establish through simple indicative assays whether such kills can be achieved without substantially compromising the nutritional status of the food . <LI> To establish a basis for scaling-up plasma decontamination processes and to make estimates of costs for a commercial treatment process.