Inactivation of Salmonella Enteritidis PT30 on the surface of unpeeled almonds by cold plasma

The contamination of raw nuts with human pathogens is an on-going food safety concern. The application of cold atmospheric pressure plasma has a high potential as a gentle technology for the surface decontamination. The results of this study suggest that a cold plasma treatment could be an alternative technology for the pasteurization of almonds. The use of air plasma achieved more than a 5 log10, which is in general required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the approval as an alternative inactivation technology for food products. However, the scale up to commercial treatment levels requires the complete understanding of the involved product-plasma interactions.