Mycotoxin Decontamination of Food: Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma versus “Classic” Decontamination

Hojnik, Nataša; Cvelbar, Uroš; Tavčar-Kalcher, Gabrijela; Walsh, James L.; Križaj, Igor

doi:10.3390/toxins9050151

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Mycotoxin Decontamination of Food: Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma versus “Classic” Decontamination

by

Nataša Hojnik

^1,2,*,

Uroš Cvelbar

^1,2

,

Gabrijela Tavčar-Kalcher

³

,

James L. Walsh

⁴ and

Igor Križaj

^5,*

¹

Jožef Stefan Institute, Department of Surface Engineering and Optoelectronics, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

²

Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

³

University of Ljubljana, Veterinary Faculty, Institute of Food Safety, Feed and Environment, Gerbičeva 60, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

⁴

University of Liverpool, Department of Electrical, Engineering and Electronics, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 3GJ, UK

⁵

Jožef Stefan Institute, Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Toxins 2017, 9(5), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9050151

Submission received: 15 March 2017 / Revised: 24 April 2017 / Accepted: 26 April 2017 / Published: 28 April 2017

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promising Detoxification Strategies to Mitigate Mycotoxins in Food and Feed)

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Abstract

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by several filamentous fungi, which frequently contaminate our food, and can result in human diseases affecting vital systems such as the nervous and immune systems. They can also trigger various forms of cancer. Intensive food production is contributing to incorrect handling, transport and storage of the food, resulting in increased levels of mycotoxin contamination. Mycotoxins are structurally very diverse molecules necessitating versatile food decontamination approaches, which are grouped into physical, chemical and biological techniques. In this review, a new and promising approach involving the use of cold atmospheric pressure plasma is considered, which may overcome multiple weaknesses associated with the classical methods. In addition to its mycotoxin destruction efficiency, cold atmospheric pressure plasma is cost effective, ecologically neutral and has a negligible effect on the quality of food products following treatment in comparison to classical methods.

Keywords: cold atmospheric pressure plasma technology; mycotoxins; physical decontamination; chemical decontamination; biological decontamination

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MDPI and ACS Style

Hojnik, N.; Cvelbar, U.; Tavčar-Kalcher, G.; Walsh, J.L.; Križaj, I. Mycotoxin Decontamination of Food: Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma versus “Classic” Decontamination. Toxins 2017, 9, 151. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9050151

AMA Style

Hojnik N, Cvelbar U, Tavčar-Kalcher G, Walsh JL, Križaj I. Mycotoxin Decontamination of Food: Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma versus “Classic” Decontamination. Toxins. 2017; 9(5):151. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9050151

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hojnik, Nataša, Uroš Cvelbar, Gabrijela Tavčar-Kalcher, James L. Walsh, and Igor Križaj. 2017. "Mycotoxin Decontamination of Food: Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma versus “Classic” Decontamination" Toxins 9, no. 5: 151. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9050151

APA Style

Hojnik, N., Cvelbar, U., Tavčar-Kalcher, G., Walsh, J. L., & Križaj, I. (2017). Mycotoxin Decontamination of Food: Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma versus “Classic” Decontamination. Toxins, 9(5), 151. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9050151

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Mycotoxin Decontamination of Food: Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma versus “Classic” Decontamination

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