Preservation Effect of Low-temperature Plasma Combined with Ultraviolet Treatment on Chilled Pork

To address the bottleneck issue of balancing bactericidal efficacy and product quality in single plasma sterilization, this study used fresh-chilled pork as the research object, and combined surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) low-temperature plasma with 222 nm ultraviolet (UV) sterilization technology for the preservation of fresh-chilled pork, and investigated the effects of these treatments on meat preservation during storage. Initially, the freezing curve of pork longissimus dorsi was determined to confirm its freezing point, and a supercooled storage system for pork at (−1.0±0.3) ℃ was established. Subsequently, pork samples were subjected to SDBD treatment, UV treatment, or SDBD+UV combined treatment, followed by supercooled storage. The results showed that compared with the blank control group, SDBD+UV combined treatment significantly (P<0.05) reduced the total viable count (TVC) and Pseudomonas count in chilled pork. It also effectively delayed the deterioration of physicochemical indicators, including pH value, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid (TBARS) value, and peroxide value (POV). Specifically, the TVB-N value of the SDBD+UV treated group was 56.24% lower than that of the blank control group. Meanwhile, the L^* value and moisture content (MC) of the chilled pork were 32.48% and 61.37% higher than those of the blank control group, respectively. In conclusion, SDBD+UV combined treatment can effectively improve the preservation effect of chilled pork during storage and is conducive to enhancing the quality of chilled pork. This study provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the development of non-thermal sterilization and preservation technologies for meat products.