The Effect of Cold Plasma Treatment on the Storage Stability of Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)

Postharvest <i>Agaricus bisporus</i> is susceptible to browning, water loss, and microbial infection. In order to extend its shelf life, cold plasma technology was used to treat and evaluate <i>A. bisporus</i>. Firstly, according to the results of a single factor test and response surface analysis, the optimal conditions for cold plasma treatment were determined as a voltage of 95 kV, a frequency of 130 Hz, and a processing time of 10 min. Secondly, storage experiments were carried out using the optimized cold plasma treatment. The results showed that the cold plasma treatment in the packaging significantly reduced the total viable count in <i>A. bisporus</i> by approximately 16.5%, maintained a browning degree at 26.9% lower than that of the control group, and a hardness at 25.6% higher than that of the control group. In addition, the cold plasma treatment also helped to preserve the vitamin C and total protein content of <i>A. bisporus</i>. In conclusion, cold plasma treatment showed great potential in enhancing the postharvest quality of fresh <i>A. bisporus.</i>