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Hort Innovation: With food safety a top consideration for growers – and a key competitive advantage across Australian growing industries – a new $5 million project is set to investigate innovative technology for quickly and effectively decontaminating fresh produce and nuts. The research will put the spotlight on ‘cold plasma’ as a chemical-free and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemical sanitisers, which have their limits when it comes to effectiveness, residues and environmental impacts.

Cold plasma is generated when an electric current is applied to normal air or a gas. This produces reactive oxidising agents, such as ozone, which are found to be able to inactivate or eliminate microbial contaminants including bacteria, viruses, moulds and yeasts.

Read the full article at the Hort Innovation website