The effect of Cold Plasma on Microbial Contamination and Physicochemical Properties of red Meat

Background and Aim : Mohammad ebrahim goli mehdi abadi* The present study aims to investigate the effect of cold plasma, the combination of argon and helium gases, on the reduction of microbial load and physicochemical changes in minced sheep meat.Methods : minced sheep meat was subjected to ۳۶ cold atmospheric plasma treatments with different time intervals (۳, ۹, and ۱۲ min) and argon-helium gas ratios (۱:۸ and ۲:۷)Results : we concluded that both parameters of time and gas composition affect microbial load reduction by cold plasma.Conclusion : the microbial load of the minced meat significantly decreased after plasma treatments in different gas composition and duration of exposure.the argon-helium ratio of ۲:۷ with an exposure time of ۱۲ min was the most effective treatment. the ratio of ۲:۷ argon-helium caused fewer changes in physiochemical properties of minced sheep meat. Helium and Argon are the preferred gases due to having high thermal conductivity, rich ultraviolet emission spectrum, and lower operating discharge voltage in atmospheric pressure. these two plasma gases are rich in charged particles, which cause the damage of bacterial cell surface.

کلیدواژه ها:

Cold plasma ، microbial load ، Argon ، helium ، sheep meat