Integration of Cold Atmospheric Plasma and Light‐Based Technologies for Surface Decontamination in Nonthermal Food Safety Applications

ABSTRACT

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and light‐based technologies, including ultraviolet (UV), pulsed light, and visible light, are increasingly investigated as nonthermal interventions for food safety due to their broad‐spectrum antimicrobial activity and minimal impact on product quality. However, when applied individually, both approaches are constrained by limited penetration depth, matrix‐dependent efficacy, and reduced effectiveness against resistant microbial structures such as biofilms and spores. Accumulating evidence indicates that integrating CAP with light‐based treatments can produce synergistic effects that exceed additive outcomes, resulting in enhanced microbial inactivation and accelerated degradation of recalcitrant chemical contaminants at reduced treatment intensities. This review critically synthesizes current literature on CAP–light integration, with a focus on the mechanistic basis of synergy, including CAP‐induced barrier weakening, suppression of cellular repair and antioxidant systems, and photolytic amplification of CAP‐generated reactive species. The efficacy of combined treatments across diverse microorganisms, food matrices, and processing environments is evaluated, alongside implications for food safety. However, quality assessments and long‐term stability studies following combined CAP–light treatments remain scarce and warrant systematic investigation. Overall, CAP–light integration represents a promising multihurdle strategy for next‐generation nonthermal food safety applications, though industrial adoption will require addressing scalability challenges, regulatory approval pathways, and cost‐effectiveness relative to conventional sanitation technologies.