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Apples, chilies and tomatoes are some of the most popular agricultural products, but concerns have been raised as pesticides can accumulate in the body unless the food is washed thoroughly before consumption. If a new technology bears fruit, these concerns will be no longer needed. Korea’s Rural Development Administration (RDA) has recently developed a new method of decomposing agricultural pesticides that remain on agricultural produce.
In many countries, plasma is mainly used to sterilize eggs. Known as one of the four fundamental states of matter, plasma is a highly ionized gas that contains an approximately equal number of positive ions and electrons. Affected by our planet’s outer electromagnetic field, plasma can carry a high amount of electricity. It is applied to various technological sectors, such as bio-, nano- and environmental technology and IT. According to some studies, there are cases where plasma is used to sterilize or clean the surface of fruit, like melons, mangos and apples, and nut products with hard shells.
The rural development organization subjected cherry tomatoes, chilies and apples to its independently developed plasma treatment for 24 hours. The overall quality or hardness of each food did not experience any negative change. The RDA also put sixty kinds of farm produce covered in agricultural chemicals inside the plasma equipment for three minutes. About 90 percent of the agricultural pesticide on the farm produce was decomposed, according to the RDA’s result, making the food safer to eat. The RDA further applied this plasma technology to the actual farming procedure.
“This technology is more environment-friendly and less harmful to the human body than the existing ozone treatment method, which is used to remove any remaining agricultural chemicals from farm produce,” said the RDA. The organization predicts that this technology can be applied to agricultural produce that needs a longer period of distribution, as it does not require an additional cleaning process.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
In many countries, plasma is mainly used to sterilize eggs. Known as one of the four fundamental states of matter, plasma is a highly ionized gas that contains an approximately equal number of positive ions and electrons. Affected by our planet’s outer electromagnetic field, plasma can carry a high amount of electricity. It is applied to various technological sectors, such as bio-, nano- and environmental technology and IT. According to some studies, there are cases where plasma is used to sterilize or clean the surface of fruit, like melons, mangos and apples, and nut products with hard shells.
Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter. It is a highly ionized gas that contains an approximately equal number of positive ions and electrons. Affected by our planet’s outer electromagnetic field, plasma can carry a high amount of electricity. Plasma can be observed in lightening, fluorescent lights and neon signs.
The above photos show the status of apples, cherry tomatoes and chilies before (left) and after (right) the plasma treatment.
A graph showing how much of five agricultural pesticides was removed from cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, chilies and apples after subjecting the produce to a plasma treatment. (Images courtesy of the RDA)
The rural development organization subjected cherry tomatoes, chilies and apples to its independently developed plasma treatment for 24 hours. The overall quality or hardness of each food did not experience any negative change. The RDA also put sixty kinds of farm produce covered in agricultural chemicals inside the plasma equipment for three minutes. About 90 percent of the agricultural pesticide on the farm produce was decomposed, according to the RDA’s result, making the food safer to eat. The RDA further applied this plasma technology to the actual farming procedure.
“This technology is more environment-friendly and less harmful to the human body than the existing ozone treatment method, which is used to remove any remaining agricultural chemicals from farm produce,” said the RDA. The organization predicts that this technology can be applied to agricultural produce that needs a longer period of distribution, as it does not require an additional cleaning process.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
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