Microbial inactivation and quality of grapes treated by plasma-activated water combined with mild heat

Abstract Saccharomyces cerevisiae is often associated with spoilage of fresh fruits and vegetables. This study aimed to evaluate the synergistic effect of plasma-activated water (PAW) and mild heat on the survival of S. cerevisiae and quality attributes of grapes. The combination of PAW and mild heat (50, 52.5, and 55 °C, 30 min) showed full synergistic fungicidal activity against S. cerevisiae on grapes. For S. cerevisiae cells, maximum inactivation was 5.85 log10 CFU/g after the PAW treatment at 55 °C for 30 min, which was significantly higher than that of individual treatment of PAW at 25 °C (0.39 log10 CFU/g) or sterile distilled water at 55 °C (2.39 log10 CFU/g) (p