Cereals, an important food for humans and animals, may carry microbial contamination undesirable to the consumer or to the next generation of plants. Currently, non-thermal plasma (NTP) is often considered a new and safe microbicidal agent without or with very low adverse side effects. NTP is a partially or fully ionized gas at room temperature, typically generated by various electric discharges and rich in reactive particles. This review summarizes the effects of NTP on various types of cereals and products. NTP has undisputed beneficial effects with high potential for future practical use in decontamination and disinfection.

Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management Faculty of Natural Sciences Comenius University in Bratislava Ilkovičova 6 842 15 Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Physics and Measurements University of Chemistry and Technology Prague Technická 5 166 28 Prague Czech Republic

Institute of Immunology and Microbiology 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General University Hospital Prague Studničkova 7 128 00 Prague Czech Republic

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