A nonthermal method of decontamination using electrolyzed water (EW) or/and ultrasonification (US) was used for microbial reduction of black pepper. Aerobic bacteria and yeasts and mold in commercial black pepper powder were found to be 8.29 and 7.72 log(CFU/g), respectively. The optimum EW was produced at flow rates of brine and water of 100 mL/min and 300 mL/min, respectively. Using EW, reducing by 1.36 log of aerobic bacteria and 1.15 log of yeasts and mold were observed. The combination of US with distilled water (DW) treatment reduced aerobic bacteria by 0.74 log and yeasts and mold by 1.03 log. The best decontamination results were obtained with US combined with EW, resulting 1.48 log reduction of aerobic bacteria and 1.70 log reduction of yeasts and mold. The inactivation pattern of microorganism by EW or/and US fitted well to first-order-kinetics model. The black pepper quality in terms of color, piperine contents and sensory properties was not changed by any of tried treatments compare to controls.

Non-thermal techniques for microbial decontamination in foods are becoming more promising. This work aims to evaluate suitability and effectiveness of corona discharge plasma jet (CDPJ) for the inactivation of microbial contaminants of dried squid shreds. CDPJ was generated at 20 kV DC and at 58 kHz frequency. Upon the CDPJ treatment for 3 min of the shreds, bacterial contaminants namely aerobic, marine and Staphylococcus aureus were inactivated by 2.0, 1.6, and 0.9 log units, respectively. Also, a 0.9 log reduction of yeasts and molds contaminants was observed. The inactivation pattern fitted well to the pseudo-first-order model rather than first-order kinetic model. The CDPJ treatment did not exert statistically significant (P>0.05) changes in color characteristics and volatile basic nitrogen content of the shreds, as compared to untreated controls. In contrast, the moisture and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances levels were significantly (P<0.05) altered by the plasma exposure. However, the treatment exerted no significant (P>0.05) impact on the sensory characteristics of the shreds. The CDPJ was found effective for bio-decontamination of real-world samples of dried squid. This technology can readily be applied to commercial dried squid processing.