Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of combining plasma and organic acid treatments on the safety and quality of pork loin. The concentration of organic acid (0.5% and 1.0%) and plasma treatment (60 min) were determined through preliminary study. Pork loin was immersed in plasma-activated acetic acid, lactic acid, citric acid solution (PAA, PLA, and PCA, respectively) for 10 min and analyzed for antimicrobial activity and quality. Compared to non-plasma treated control group, PLA and PCA did not provide additional bactericidal effect on Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes, regardless of their concentration. In contrast, 0.5% PAA showed a higher bacteria reduction, only except for L. monocytogenes, possibly due to the increase in H2O2 and 03 concentration in 0.5% PAA solution. Meanwhile, organic acid and plasma treatment could induce negative effect on the quality of pork loin, especially color and lipid/protein oxidation. However, in this study, PAA minimized the adverse effect on its quality compared to the other plasma-treated organic acids. Therefore, 0.5% PAA can be effective way to control microbial contamination in the meat without significant quality deterioration during storage.
