ABSTRACT
Ozone (O3) ’nds a wide range of applications in the food industry from food surface decontamination to sanitation of plant equipment to wastewater treatment. In recent years, there has been renewed interest in the use of O3 within the food industry as a potential substitute to chlorine. The fresh produce industry is showing interest in O3 applications due to growing consumer preference for minimally processed foods, frequent outbreaks of food-related illnesses, identi’cation of new food pathogens, and the passage of legislation governing food quality and safety. Global legislation governing ozonation typically has developed in response to the evolving use of O3 from initial applications for water treatment, to surface and equipment cleaning, to food produce washes, controlled atmospheric storage, and more recently as a direct food additive. O3 is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the United States and has been employed successfully for applications including surface decontamination to extend the shelf life of fresh produce, decontamination of packaging materials, disinfecting of process water, and sanitizing of processing equipment and food storage areas, among others. Microbial safety is of paramount importance for the minimally processed fresh
6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 185 6.2 Properties of O3............................................................................................. 186 6.3 O3 Generation ............................................................................................... 187 6.4 Applications in Fruit Processing .................................................................. 187
6.4.1 Aqueous O3 Applications .................................................................. 189 6.4.2 Gaseous O3 Applications .................................................................. 189 6.4.3 Fruit Juices ........................................................................................ 194 6.4.4 Sensory Properties of O3-Treated Fruits ........................................... 195
6.5 Factors Affecting O3 Ef’cacy ....................................................................... 196 6.6 Case Study: Fruit and Vegetable Disinfection at Samro Ltd., Switzerland .....197 6.7 Industrial Health and Safety ......................................................................... 198 References .............................................................................................................. 198
food industry. O3 has been examined as an alternative sanitizing technology in the fresh produce industry. The FDA af’rmation of O3 with generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status triggered broad usage of O3 gas in the food industry. The introduction of legislation governing ozonation applications in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in food processing will also encourage the adoption of ozonation processes in industry. This chapter discusses the application of O3 in fruit processing, state-of-art case studies, and challenges faced for industrial adoption of this technology.
