Cold Plasma-Based Antimicrobial Packaging System to Improve the Shelf Life and Reduce Foodborne Pathogens in Poultry Breast Meat

It is estimated that more than 144 million pounds of fresh poultry meat products are lost as a result of microbiological spoilage each year. Various treatments such as chilling with chlorinated water and cold-chain management are used to control microbial spoilage and foodborne pathogens of fresh poultry meat products. Dr. Hong Zhuang at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) recently completed a study optimizing atmospheric cold plasma (CP)-based antimicrobial packaging system that uses high electrical voltages to generate plasma with ozone and other bactericidal components to reduce foodborne pathogens in raw chicken breast meat without compromising quality. Cold Plasma reduced total bacterial count and Campylobacter by more than 90 percent and salmonella by more than 60 percent on raw chickens. It further reduced spoilage microbes and Campylobacter by more than 90 percent when the raw meat was packed in high O2/CO2 atmosphere compared with that packed in air Treatment of chicken breast in modified atmosphere tray packs with this system at 75 kV for three minutes can double the shelf life at refrigerated temperatures. Regardless of packaging atmosphere, the system generated ozone in packages and affected color of treated meat after storage, making meat look paler or lighter. @ http://www.uspoultry.org/research/resproj/PROJ_F066.html