Optimisation of treatment conditions for reducing Shewanella putrefaciens and Salmonella Typhimurium on grass carp treated by thermoultrasound-assisted plasma functionalized buffer

A novel method of thermoultrasound-assisted plasma functionalized buffer (PFB) for decontaminating grass carp was evaluated using the Box–Behnken design (BBD) with processing variables including PFB generating voltage (P V ), ultrasound treatment time (U T ) and temperature (T P ). The predicted models were found to be significant ( p  < 0.05) and displayed sufficient fitness with experimental data as indicated by non-significant ( p  > 0.05) lack of fit and high coefficient of determination (R 2 ≥ 0.97) values. The optimum decontamination conditions for the responses of S. putrefaciens and S. Typhimurium were P V of 66 V, U T of 14.90 min and T P of 60 ℃, achieving reductions of 4.40 and 3.97 log CFU/g, respectively, with a desirability of 0.998. Among the variables, temperature presented higher significance for inactivating bacteria and the production of volatile basic nitrogen and lipid peroxidation under the optimized conditions were within the limits of freshness for grass carp. Additionally, the effects of PFB and the optimized thermoultrasound-assisted PFB decontamination were mild on the microstructure of grass carp with slight ruptures and loose myofibril structures, indicating the potential of thermoultrasound-assisted PFB for seafood products decontamination with reduced processing time.