Extending Shelf Life of Strawberries, Spinach, Kale and Lettuce via Non-Equilibrium Short-Pulsed Plasma Activated Water Fog

Current methods for food transportation and storage are insufficient in eliminating contamination threats from food-borne pathogens, resulting in frequent cases of foodborne illness or costly recalls. Perishable products within the DLAs subsistence supply chain are no exception to this problem. AAPlasma LLC proposes a non-equilibrium (cold) plasma-based solution that will continuously disinfect contents of military and commercial transport vehicles, reducing one of the largest risks to the population's food supply and safeguarding consumers from food-borne pathogens that cost the US a staggering $55 billion each year. This problem is much easier to prevent than to remedy. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), generated in plasma, are both efficient at disinfection and safe for humans. These species can be synthesized by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma and carried via charged aerosolized water droplets before uniformly coating the target object (in this case, the food surface). This technology has been established in Drexel University laboratory demonstrations and AAPlasma believes it can be scaled up and implemented into existing food transportation and storage methods. To accomplish this commercial implementation effort, AAPlasma has developed a three-phase project, with a detailed Phase I schedule, budget, and technical objectives outlined in this proposal.