High voltage atmospheric cold plasma treatment of refrigerated chicken eggs for control of Salmonella Enteritidis contamination on egg shell

- Achieved significant inactivation of Salmonella Enteritidis on egg by cold plasma.
- High oxygen gas was found to be most effective for inactivation.
- No significant change in physical quality was observed after plasma treatment.

Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) contamination is a major risk for U.S. consumers from chicken eggs. This study is primarily focused on evaluation of a novel High Voltage Atmospheric Cold Plasma (HVACP) technology for inactivation of Salmonella and its effect on the egg quality. Spot inoculated chicken eggs were treated with high voltage cold plasma (85 kV) under direct and indirect mode of exposure in dry air and modified atmospheric gas environment. A reduction of 5.53 log cfu/egg was observed for egg surfaces directly treated under modified atmospheric gas for 15 min. SE reductions was found dependent on treatment times, gas type, and mode of exposure of eggs to the plasma. No significant difference (p > 0.05) in direct and indirect mode of exposure was observed on the egg quality after plasma treatment. These results demonstrate the potential of HVACP to be used as a suitable non-thermal treatment for reducing Salmonella from packaged chicken eggs.