Assessment of cold oxygen plasma technology for the inactivation of major foodborne viruses on stainless steel

This study investigated the efficacy of cold oxygen plasma (COP) for inactivation of murine norovirus-1 (MNV-1; a human norovirus [NoV] surrogate) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) on stainless steel surfaces. Decrease in the MNV-1 and HAV titers resulting from 10 to 300 s of COP were 0.27-3.89 and 0.77-2.02 log PFU/ml, respectively. The Weibull model was used to calculate D-values of 1, 2, and 3-log reductions as the treatment times for MNV-1 (R2 = 0.95, RMSE = 0.08) and HAV (R2 = 0.96, RMSE = 0.05). The D = 2 and D = 3 values for MNV-1 (0.72 min for D = 2, 4.98 min for D = 3) were less than those for HAV (1.43 min for D = 2, 9.99 min for D = 3). However, there was no significant difference in values for D = 1 by COP between MNV-1 (21.65 s) and HAV (25.10 s). COP treatment on food contact surfaces could be effective for inactivation of NoV and HAV.