Improving Health, Safety of Foodstuffs with Help of Cold Plasma

Cold plasma is an emerging non-thermal technology for the improvement of food safety. This technique becomes a subject of high interest for a wide variety of technologies including the food industry.

In Iran, a knowledge-based company with the support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has been able to take positive steps towards solving the challenges in the industrialization and commercialization of the technology in the country.

Dielectric barrier discharge is known as a new and creative method for producing cold or non-thermal plasma, which is one of the methods of sterilizing food and agriculture. Disinfection of foodstuffs surface and seed germination are two main applications of dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

Cold, or non-thermal plasma is a low temperature plasma with fantastic surface treatment, cleaning and antimicrobial efficacy. A cold plasma is a plasma that exists in a state of non-equilibrium.

According to a report of the Iranian Vice-Presidency, the technology is applicable in industries such as metallurgy, agriculture, medicine, polymer, fertilizer production and food industry, and it can help preserve the value of food resources during processing and maintenance.

This technology is also used to disinfect the seeds and water needed by plants, increase germination, improve the quality of soil, repel plant pests and fungi, and increase the ability to preserve food and living tissues through microbial and enzyme inactivation.

According to the Scientific Vice President, the results of numerous researches show that the method increases the growth of plants, increases their quality and yield, and also enhances the safety and health of foodstuffs.

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