Plasma-activated water (PAW), enriched with reactive nitrogen and oxygen species (RONS), holds significant promise for foodborne pathogen inactivation. This study compared the inactivation efficiency and reusability of static/dynamic PAW treatments with commercial electrolyzed water on pork belly surfaces against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella Typhimurium, and its impact on the quality properties. Meanwhile, degradation kinetics of RONS in PAW and inactivation kinetics were modeled throughout the process. As a result, dynamic PAW achieved superior pathogen reduction within 2 min while static PAW required 10 min, both outperforming commercial electrolyzed water. In addition, dynamic PAW retained efficacy over 5–6 reusable cycles, whereas static PAW exhibited limited reusability (2 cycles). Both static and dynamic PAW treatments induced minor ΔE fluctuations in lean and fat layer of pork belly. PAW treatments induced higher weight gain than that of sterile water treatments, though dynamic PAW slightly increased lipid oxidation and protein carbonyl content, remaining within acceptable thresholds. Furthermore, the degradation kinetics of four active species (<InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">${NO}_{2}^{-}$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <msubsup> <mrow> <mi mathvariant="italic">NO</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> <mo>-</mo> </msubsup> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>、<InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">${NO}_{3}^{-}$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <msubsup> <mrow> <mi mathvariant="italic">NO</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>3</mn> </mrow> <mo>-</mo> </msubsup> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>、<InlineEquation ID="IEq3"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">${H}_{2}{O}_{2}$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <msub> <mi>H</mi> <mn>2</mn> </msub> <msub> <mi>O</mi> <mn>2</mn> </msub> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>、<InlineEquation ID="IEq4"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">${O}_{3}$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <msub> <mi>O</mi> <mn>3</mn> </msub> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>) were well described by a first-order reaction kinetic model. The correlation analysis demonstrated that dynamic PAW treatment resulted in stronger negative correlations between residual RONS concentrations and inactivation efficacy, along with more pronounced inter-species correlations among RONS. Meanwhile, compared with Weibull model, Log-logistic model could characterize microbial inactivation kinetics and behaviors more accurately under both static and dynamic treatments. These findings highlighted dynamic PAW as a rapid, eco-friendly intervention for meat safety, with quality impacts deemed negligible for commercial applications.

Enhanced Analysis of Pathogen Inactivation Efficiency in Dynamic Plasma-Activated Water and the Intrinsic Mechanisms Involved in RONS Degradation

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发表日期：

2026年2月23日

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Haiying Chen,
Xiang Wu,
Min Zhou,
Tao Wang,
Lingjun Wei

摘要

Plasma-activated water (PAW), enriched with reactive nitrogen and oxygen species (RONS), holds significant promise for foodborne pathogen inactivation. This study compared the inactivation efficiency and reusability of static/dynamic PAW treatments with commercial electrolyzed water on pork belly surfaces against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella Typhimurium, and its impact on the quality properties. Meanwhile, degradation kinetics of RONS in PAW and inactivation kinetics were modeled throughout the process. As a result, dynamic PAW achieved superior pathogen reduction within 2 min while static PAW required 10 min, both outperforming commercial electrolyzed water. In addition, dynamic PAW retained efficacy over 5–6 reusable cycles, whereas static PAW exhibited limited reusability (2 cycles). Both static and dynamic PAW treatments induced minor ΔE fluctuations in lean and fat layer of pork belly. PAW treatments induced higher weight gain than that of sterile water treatments, though dynamic PAW slightly increased lipid oxidation and protein carbonyl content, remaining within acceptable thresholds. Furthermore, the degradation kinetics of four active species ( ${NO}_{2}^{-}$ ${NO}_{2}^{-}$ 、 ${NO}_{3}^{-}$ ${NO}_{3}^{-}$ 、 ${H}_{2}{O}_{2}$ $H_{2} O_{2}$ 、 ${O}_{3}$ $O_{3}$ ) were well described by a first-order reaction kinetic model. The correlation analysis demonstrated that dynamic PAW treatment resulted in stronger negative correlations between residual RONS concentrations and inactivation efficacy, along with more pronounced inter-species correlations among RONS. Meanwhile, compared with Weibull model, Log-logistic model could characterize microbial inactivation kinetics and behaviors more accurately under both static and dynamic treatments. These findings highlighted dynamic PAW as a rapid, eco-friendly intervention for meat safety, with quality impacts deemed negligible for commercial applications.