The application of plasma-activated water combined with mild heat for the decontamination of Bacillus cereus spores in rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica)

This study applied the combination of plasma-activated water (PAW) and mild heat (40 °C and 55 °C) for the decontamination of Bacillus cereus spores in rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica). In this study, PAW combined with 40 °C and 55 °C (PAW-40 and PAW-55) achieved 1.54 and 2.12 log10 CFU g−1 reductions of B. cereus spores in rice after 60 min exposure, which was significantly higher than the inactivation level (0.72 log10 CFU g−1) induced by PAW treatment alone. The assays for the leakage of intracellular contents (nucleic acids, proteins, dipicolinic acid-DPA) and the propidium iodide (PI) fluorescence probe confirmed that the combination of PAW and mild heat caused significant damages on the intact multilayered structure of B. cereus spores than the individual PAW did. The application of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) provided a direct observation for the visible disruption of external structure and leakage of intracellular components caused by the combination of PAW and mild heat. Besides, the combination of PAW and mild heat caused no adverse effect on the texture and sensory qualities of the rice after cooking. These findings provide some knowledge for the application of PAW combined with mild heat for the decontamination of spores in rice.