_Applied_  
_sciences_  
_Acticle_  
**Decontamination of Food Packages from SARS-CoV-2 RNA**  
**with a Cold Plasma-Assisted System**  
[PERSON] 1,2, [PERSON] 3,4,*, [PERSON] 5, [PERSON] 36,  
[PERSON] 1,2,*,*, [PERSON] 3,4,*, [PERSON] 3, [PERSON] 36, [PERSON] 3,4,  
[PERSON] 6, [PERSON] 7, [PERSON] 3,4, [PERSON] 1,2,  
[PERSON] 1,2,4, [PERSON] 5,*,*, and [PERSON] 3,4  
Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN), University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (F.C.) [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.G.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (V.C.)  
Interdepartment Center for Industrial Research for Advanced Mechanics and Materials, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy  
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (A.C.A.S.P); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (U.T.); [PERSON](F.S.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (G.B.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.L.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (S.R.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (P.R).  
Interdepartment Centre for Agri-Food Industrial Research, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy  
Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.C.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (VS.S)  
Department of Food Technology, Engineering and Nutrition, Lund University, Naturvetarvagen 14, SE- 22362 Lund, Sweden; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
Department of Chemical Science, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy; visracus@dmfcri.unicit  
Unit of Microbiology, The Great Romagna Hub Laboratory, 47522 Piewesesestina, Italy  
Correspondence: [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (S.T.). [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.L.)  
**Featured Application: The actual emergency linked to the pandemic from SARS-CoV-2 brought about the need of a new critical control point (CCP) linked to the external packaging contamination of packaged foods. Therefore, cold plasma technology is of great interest in handling this new criticality as it can be applied in both the production and distribution steps of the food supply chain.**  
The accidental contamination of food and food packaging surfaces with SARS-CoV-2 is of increasing concern among scientists and consumers, particularly in relation to fresh foods that are consumed without further cooking. The use of chemical sanitizers is often not suitable for these kinds of commodities; therefore, a non-thermal sanitation technology could help to increase safety in relation to the food supply chain. Cold plasma has proven to be a promising strategy for virus inactivation. This research is aimed at evaluating the ability of a cold plasma sanitation system to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 RNA on packaged foods. Two different plastic materials were investigated and subjected to 5- and 10-min exposure to plasma after experimental inoculum of the RNA. In addition to viral degradation, possible changes in the performance of the materials were evaluated. Shelf-life of the foods, after exposure of the packages to plasma, was also investigated. Results showed that 10 min of exposure was sufficient to almost completely eliminate the viral RNA from package surfaces. The treatment did not produce any significant variation in packaging material performance or the shelf-life of the tested packaged products, indicating the potentiality of this treatment for the decontamination of packaged products.  
Covid-19; packaging materials; viral RNA; cold plasma; food quality; food shelf-life; food safety