Feasibility of cold plasma for the control of biofilms in food industry

Background: The increasingly grim situation caused by biofilms infection has undoubtedly become the challenge in the area of food safety. Due to the protective effect of the biofilm architecture, the microorganisms embedded within the biofilms show increased resistance to antibacterial treatment compared with those in planktonic state. In order to effectively remove biofilms from the surfaces of food and food-contacted materials, cold plasma, as a novel non-thermal processing technology, is adopted in food industry. The effective biofilms elimination by cold plasma treatment has resulted in a boost of concerns in this subject. Scope and approach: This review gives readers a comprehensive summary about the anti-biofilms application of cold plasma in food industry. Specifically, the possible mechanisms, which are responsible for the biofilms control of cold plasma technology, were discussed. In addition, the factors may affect the efficiency of cold plasma against biofilms are emphatically investigated, along with the final evaluation of cold plasma as a novel anti-biofilms method. Key findings and conclusions: Increasing numbers of studies prove the excellent anti-biofilms activity of cold plasma technology. The reactive species, etching effect and control of quorum sensing are involved into the mechanisms responsible for anti-biofilms activity of cold plasma, which can be affected by a series of factors including gas composition, attachment surface, processing parameters, type of bacteria, biofilms thickness etc. In the process of eliminating biofilms, cold plasma can exert minimum impact on the organoleptic properties of food products, while lipid oxidation is detected which needs special attentions.