Effect of plasma-activated water and antioxidant packaging on the degradation kinetic of minimally processed fennel quality during storage Shah, Mudabbar Hussain Volpe, Stefania Colonna, Francesca Valentino, Vincenzo De Filippis, Francesca Razola-Díaz, María del Carmen Verardo, Vito Cavella, Silvana Torreri, Elena Antioxidant packaging Appearance Polyphenol content This study investigated the impact of an alternative washing technology, plasma-activated water (PAW), in combination with antioxidant packaging, on the physicochemical, nutritional, and microbiological properties of minimally processed fennel (MPF) stored for maximum 21 days at three temperatures (4 ◦C, 8 ◦C, 12 ◦C). A kinetic approach was applied to describe the quality changes of MPF over time, and the Arrhenius model was used to predict the effect of temperature on kinetic constants. The pseudo-zero-order kinetic model adequately explained the total colour change and total polyphenol content over time. In contrast, the pseudo-first-order kinetic model described the changes in antioxidant capacity and ascorbic acid. The nutritional properties of MPF were effectively preserved thanks to the combined treatments when the product is stored at 4 ◦C. However, the physical properties were not affected. Microbiological analysis showed that combined treatments could slow the growth of yeasts, mould, and Enterobacteriaceae during the storage at 4 ◦C and 8 ◦C. In conclusion, the results suggested that the combination of PAW and antioxidant packaging could effectively be used as a potential application for preserving the nutritional quality of MPF, particularly when stored at lower temperatures, such as 4 ◦C. 2025-12-05T11:06:41Z 2025-12-05T11:06:41Z 2025-12 journal article Shah, S. M. H., Volpe, S., Colonna, F., Valentino, V., De Filippis, F., Razola-Diaz, M. del C., Verardo, V., Cavella, S., & Torrieri, E. (2025). Effect of plasma-activated water and antioxidant packaging on the degradation kinetic of minimally processed fennel quality during storage. Applied Food Research, 5(2), 101136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afres.2025.101136 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/108618 10.1016/j.afres.2025.101136 eng info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/HE/817936 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional Elsevier