ABSTRACT
Ozone is a potent oxidizing agent, is operative against a broad spectrum of pathogenic and spoilage causing micro-organisms associated with food products, such as raw poultry and meats, fruits and vegetables, fish and seafoods, dry food products, and food ingredients, milk and milk products, and food grains and their products. In addition to the being promising microbial inactivating agent ozone is also utilized as a sanitizing agent for packaging materials and food contact surfaces and in “Clean in place” sanitation systems. A wide range of elements that may influence the efficacy of ozone processing have been recognized, for example, extrinsic (flow rate, concentration, temperature, relative humidity) and intrinsic (pH, organic matter, residual ozone, ozone demand of the medium) parameters, and they are briefly discussed. Futuristic application of ozone processing takes an account of diminution of pesticide residues and inhibiting ripening and spoilage in foods of plant origin. Ozone treatment substantiates the preservation of vital physicochemical, visual, textural, and organoleptic characteristics of a food system provided that the particular processing conditions should be precisely defined and controlled for that specific food system in order to ensure efficient and secure use of ozone.
