Advancing Millet Processing with Cold Plasma: Practical Applications and Future Opportunities
摘要
Millets are nutrient-dense and climate-resilient grains with significant potential to address global food security challenges. Despite their advantages, their industrial application is limited by suboptimal functional properties, microbial contamination, and the presence of antinutritional components. This chapter explores the application of cold plasma (CP) technology as an innovative, nonthermal processing technique to overcome these limitations. CP offers remarkable potential to enhance the physicochemical and functional properties of millets and their derivatives, including starch, proteins, and lipids. Furthermore, CP demonstrates exceptional efficacy in microbial inactivation, toxin degradation, and the reduction of antinutritional factors such as tannins and phytates, while also preserving the inherent nutritional qualities of millets. The chapter also examines the underlying mechanisms of CP-induced modifications of millets and their impact on improving millet safety, functionality, and shelf life. By incorporating CP across various stages of millet processing, the food industry can address existing barriers, unlocking new opportunities for millet-based products in health-focused and sustainable food systems.