Emerging applications of cold plasma technology in cereal grains and products

The use of cold plasma technology (CPT) in the food industry could be a promising alternative to heat treatment techniques in practice. The CPT is effective in preserving the quality and safety of food products by achieving microbial decontamination without compromising the functional and organoleptic properties. This review provides readers with a comprehensive overview of CPT and its applications in cereal grains and products. In particular, the paper elucidates the fundamentals, types, applications, and decontamination mechanisms of CPT in the treatment of cereals and cereal-based products. The current challenges are summarized while future work is also proposed for researchers to target for advancing CPT. Recent literature is reviewed through various search engines by covering scholarly articles in food technology, food safety, and food microbiology. Consumer awareness of non-thermally treated food products has increased. The use of CPT in the food industry has paved a way to produce products with better quality and safety. Previous studies have shown that the application of CPT can inactivate pathogenic microbes from the surface of cereal grains as a result of reactive species generation, thereby extending their shelf life while affecting food quality minimally. Furthermore, the use of CPT boosts seed germination and plant growth thus improving food security. Additionally, the CPT can improve the molecular properties of cereal starch to overcome inherent disadvantages, such as solubility and inability of resisting heat and shear. Finally, this review outlines the limitations of CPT (e.g., safety to food consumers and machine operators) and possible solutions. Despite the potential, more research is still needed to promote the CPT for industrial applications.