Disinfection of chicken fillets in packages with atmospheric cold plasma: effects of treatment voltage and time.
AIMS
To study effects of treatment voltage and time of in-package atmospheric cold plasmas (ACP) on quality of raw chicken meat.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Meat was packed in trays in air, treated with ACP and stored at 4°C for 24 h or 3 days. Increasing voltage from 55 to 80 kV caused increasing O3 inside packages, but had no effects on microbes, colour and pH after 24 h of storage at 4°C. There were no differences in O3 , microbes, colour lightness and pH between treatment times 3, 6 and 9 min at 80 kV after 3-day storage. However, microbial populations on ACP-treated meat were lower than untreated control. Treatments at 80 kV for >3 min reduced meat redness and yellowness.


CONCLUSIONS
ACP voltage does not affect microbes, colour and pH of meat after 24 h of storage. ACP treatments for ≥3 min at 80 kV reduce microbes and affect colour of raw meat.


SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY
Our data demonstrate that increasing ACP voltage from 55 to 80 kV or time from 3 to 9 min may not affect meat microbial growth and pH. Increasing treatment time longer than 3 min may affect meat appearance.
['Wang|J M|JM|', 'Zhuang|H|H|', 'Lawrence|K|K|', 'Zhang|J H|JH|']
D000818:Animals D002645:Chickens D003116:Color D004203:Disinfection D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration D008460:Meat D010126:Ozone D058626:Plasma Gases D019064:Product Packaging D013997:Time Factors
colour pH chicken breast meat dielectric barrier discharge in-package ACP microbiological quality