Application of non-thermal plasma as an alternative approach to assess the oxidative stability of food

In this PhD research, attention will be given to the development of non-thermal plasma technology as a highly innovative technique for investigation/evaluation of aroma -and taste changes in food due to chemical oxidative ageing. Such oxidation processes negatively influence organoleptic, nutritional and/or health properties of the food product. Consequently, limited shelf-life will eventually result in disposal of huge amounts of food, which is of high economic impact. One of the most important aroma formation mechanisms during storage of (microbiologically stably) high-fat products is lipid oxidation, resulting in the formation of unwanted rancid aromas. This phenomena slows the industry down in its innovation proces, because the industry generally relies on time consuming storage tests, which are mostly thermally based (e.g. Rancimat) to evaluate new products. In some cases, these thermally based storage tests have proven to be insufficiently correlated to the oxidation process at ambient temperature. Therefore, development of innovative shelf-life tests is required which can induce lipid oxidation reactions in an accelerated and realistic (non-thermal) way. In this study, application possibilities of advanced oxidation technology, more specifically non-thermal plasma, will be investigated and evaluated as an accelerated oxidation technique in food.