Ozone in Food Preservation

Ozone is a triatomic form of oxygen. It is an unstable compound and decomposes to molecular oxygen spontaneously without leaving a toxic residue. Lack of toxic residues makes ozone a favorable sanitizer. Ozone has been used since the late nineteenth century to purify water. Ozone as a disinfectant is declared to be generally recognized-as-safe (GRAS) for food application in 1997. Since that time, interest in developing ozone applications in the food industry has increased. Ozone can be applied to food products as a gas or it can be dissolved in water using certain bubbling techniques. It has been used for process water sterilization and recycling, inactivation of bacterial growth, prevention of fungal decay, washing and storage of fruits and vegetables, reducing microbial populations on stainless steel surfaces, control of storage pests, destruction of pesticides and chemical residues, and control of microorganisms on poultry and meat products. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

The influence of gaseous ozone and ozonated water on microbial flora and degradation of aflatoxin B1 in dried figs

PubMedID: 18824207In this study, the effectiveness of gaseous ozone and ozonated water on microbial flora and aflatoxin B1 content of dried figs were investigated. After dried figs were exposed to13.8 mg L-1 ozone gas and 1.7 mg L-1 ozonated water for 7.5, 15 and 30 min, variation of aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB), E. coli, coliform, yeast and mold counts were determined. Before and after ozone treatments molds on dried figs were also isolated and identified. In both ozone treatments, AMB was not exactly inactivated whereas E. coli was completely destroyed at 7.5 min. Coliform, and yeast were also destroyed at 7.5 and 15 min in ozonated water, respectively. Ozone applications at 15 min were sufficient for inactivation of all molds. Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus which cause aflatoxin formation were isolated from dried figs. Artificially contaminated with aflatoxin B1 samples were also treated with gaseous ozone and ozonated water for 30, 60 and 180 min, respectively. In both of treatments, degradation of aflatoxin B1 was increased due to increasing of ozonation time. Results indicated that gaseous ozone was more effective than ozonated water for reduction of aflatoxin B1, whereas ozonated water was affected for decreasing microbial counts. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Scientific Research Foundation of Beijing Normal University TOGTAG-3090This research was funded by The Scientific and Technical Research Council of TURKEY (TUBİTAK) (Tubitak Project No: TOGTAG-3090) and by Scientific Research Foundation of Cukurova University (Project No. ZF 2003 KAP 6)

Acrylamide content of some Turkish traditional desserts

Turkish desserts are consumed in Turkey, Middle East and some parts of Europe. This study investigates acrylamide contents of some Turkish desserts and their raw materials which are possible sources. For this aim, LC-MSMS based method was used which is simplifying sample treatment, reducing analyzing time and more reliable. Desserts are thought to have high levels of acrylamide contents due to the compositions and high cooking temperatures. In acidic condition, asparagine, which is primary substance to occurrence of acrylamide, is converted to aspartic acid so that acrylamide formation is prevented. Other factors affecting acrylamide content were oven temperature, frying oil temperature, acrylamide content of raw materials and production steps