Effects of dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma (DACP) treatment on the inhibition of Salmonella and the storability of grape tomato were investigated. Grape tomatoes, with or without inoculation with a cocktail of three strains of Salmonella (~8 log CFU/g tomato), were packaged in a polyethylene terephthalate commercial clamshell container and cold plasma-treated at 35 kVat 1.1 kHz for 3 min using an DACP treatment system equipped with a pin-type high-voltage electrode. DACP treatment resulted in ~1 log CFU/tomato reduction of Salmonella, irrespectively of the size of container (316, 595vs. 758 cm3), the number of grape tomatoes in the container (3, 7, vs. 11), and the position of the tomato in the container(P > 0.05).Rolling integrated during treatment significantly increased the Salmonella reduction rates to 3.1±0.3 and 3.3±0.8 log CFU/tomato in the single-layer and double-layer configurations of the tomato samples in the container (992 cm3), respectively. Rolling-adopted DACP initially reduced the number of total mesophilic aerobes and yeast and molds in the double layer configuration of tomato samples by 1.3±0.3 and 1.5±0.2 log CFU/tomato, respectively, without altering the color and firmness of the tomatoes. The growth of Salmonella, total aerobes, and yeast and molds on DACP-treated grape tomatoes was effectively prevented during storage at 10 °C. DACP treatment did not influence the tomato color index (a*/b*), firmness, weight loss, pH, total soluble solid content, and lycopene concentration of grape tomatoes at 10 and 25 °C (P> 0.05). DACP treatment holds promise as a post-packaging process for improving microbial safety against Salmonella and storability of fresh grape tomatoes.

• Si Hyeon Roh(Department of Food Science and Technology, Seoul Women's University)
• Brendan A. Niemira(United States Department of Agriculture, Eastern Regional Research Center)
• Sea C. Min(Department of Food Science and Technology, Seoul Women's University)