Environmentally friendly physical treatment strategies against spoilage molds in the food industry

This review explores physical treatment methods for the inactivation of spoilage molds in the food industry. Focus is placed on sustainable, chemical-free technologies that offer safe, effective, and environmentally friendly solutions for improving food safety and extending shelf life. A total of eight physical treatment categories were evaluated for their antifungal activity and inactivation mechanisms, namely ultraviolet light, pulsed light, gamma irradiation, microwave, ultrasound, cold plasma, high pressure, and pulsed electric fields. Ultraviolet and pulsed light treatments demonstrate promising results in rapidly inactivating fungal spores on surfaces as well as in liquids. Gamma irradiation offers a reliable means of achieving deep penetration and extended shelf life. Microwave and ultrasound technologies provide innovative approaches to disrupt fungal cell structures. Cold plasma and high-pressure treatments emerge as alternative options, capable of inactivating a broad spectrum of spoilage fungi without compromising food integrity while pulsed electric fields enhance permeability in fungal cells, leading to effective inactivation. The use of different physical treatments having different modes of actions could be of interest in agreement with the “hurdle” technology concept. Finally, a critical evaluation of the advantages and limitations of these approaches serves as a base for exploring new research perspectives. The comparative analysis revealed that while ultraviolet and pulsed light are the most cost-effective and rapid for surface decontamination, High-Pressure Processing (HPP) and cold plasma offer the best efficacy for preserving organoleptic quality. From an environmental perspective, UV-LEDs and cold plasma stand out for their low energy consumption and mercury-free operation, suggesting that the most efficient technique is application-dependent or achieved through synergistic hurdle combinations.