Use of Ozone to Improve the Safety of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Traditional technology utilizes water with or without a sanitizing agent to wash fresh fruits and vegetables. Chlorine is the most widely used sanitizing agent available for fresh produce, but it has a limited effect in killing bacteria on fruit and vegetable surfaces. The most that can be expected at permitted concentrations is a 1to 2-log population reduction (Sapers, 1998). Furthermore, the environmental and health communities have expressed concerns about the residual by-products of chlorine. An alternative treatment is being sought to improve food safety. Research and commercial applications have verified that ozone can replace traditional sanitizing agents and provide other benefits (Bott, 1991; Cena, 1998; Graham, 1997). Many research and industrial trials are underway to validate the use of ozone in the produce industry. Several meetings on this topic have been sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), including a “Conference on Ozone for Processing Fresh-Cut Fruit and Vegetables” in April 1998 and an “Ozone Workshop” in May 1998. The produce industry is very interested in this technology. However, many questions still have not been resolved, since experience in commercial application in the United States is lacking (Graham, 1997). Use of Ozone to Improve the Safety of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables