ABSTRACT
Minimizing the occurrence of deadly microorganisms in fruits, vegetables, juices, meats and other foods is a primary food-safety concern. There are several processing methods available for inactivation of microorganisms in foods namely thermal, high pressure, pulsed electric field, oscillating magnetic field, irradiation, and ozonation. This chapter examines ozonation processing of solid and liquid food materials for microbial safety and mathematical modeling in liquid food. In the regulations, ozone’s uses include the reduction of microorganisms on raw agricultural commodities in the course of commercial processing. The regulations also state, however, that ozone’s use may have the potential to fall under the guidelines of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, thus, entering the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency. Ozone is a naturally occurring substance found in our atmosphere and it can also be produced synthetically. Ozone is easily generated with devices that create an electrical discharge across a flow of either pure oxygen or air.
