The Many Benefits of Ozone for Food and Beverage Processing
Onions and Salmonella. Mushrooms and Listeria monocytogenes. Oysters and E.coli. Frozen mango and Hepatitis A.
At some point over the past year, we have seen or heard about certain foods being recalled due to contamination by bacteria that present a serious – even deadly – threat to human health. Food recalls in North America are on the rise, and there have been dozens already in Canada this year alone.
That’s why effective disinfection in the food and beverage processing industry is more critical now than ever before.
Ozone can be a solution to this pressing challenge.
Whether it’s disinfecting a complex network of equipment in a large food processing plant or simply washing produce before it is shipped, ozone kills bacteria on contact, without the use of chemicals.
Ozone is the strongest, most environmentally friendly, and fastest-growing water treatment technology in the world today. According to the International Ozone Association, virtually all bottled water production facilities utilize ozone technology in some way during the makeup and bottling processes.
Ozone is also compliant with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Association (USFDA) for food and surface sanitation.
How does ozone work to eradicate harmful bacteria?
Let’s look at its impact on Legionella, a highly infectious bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease, a severe form of pneumonia that can be fatal.
While Legionella bacteria is found naturally in freshwater environments, it can become a human health concern when it grows and spreads in any human-made made structure that transmits or contains water. In a food processing plant, this could include plumbing pipes, hoses, tanks, cooling towers, pressure jetting systems, bottle-washing systems and other equipment.
Ozone is able to disinfect the entire processing chain. When dissolved in water, it instantly splits and kills the cells of contaminant organisms, eliminating virtually all bacteria – like Legionella – as well as viruses and cysts.
It also removes chlorine and metals and is effective in eradicating many Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs), such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and personal care products.
Moreover, ozone simply breaks down to oxygen in the treated water. It has no impact on PH levels, and, unlike chlorine, leaves no chemical by-products in the water. In short, ozone offers a complete solution to provide assurance that the food being processed is free of harmful bacteria. Chemical-free, it thoroughly disinfects throughout all stages of food and beverage processing and packaging. Ozone sanitation prior to packaging can also extend the shelf life of processed food and beverages.
Ozone has other benefits as well.
Ozone Improves the Quality of Wastewater
The use of ozone as a disinfectant actually improves the quality of effluent wastewater. This has four positive impacts:
Ozone wastewater treatment in a closed-loop sanitation system offers opportunities for water re-use, which can significantly help conserve water and reduce operation costs;
The use of ozone will significantly reduce costly municipal dumping fees of overages;
The use of chlorine, peroxide, or peracetic acid is eliminated or reduced, decreasing the need for these costly treatments that can leave chemical residual in the treated water; and,
The ozone-treated effluent going back into the watershed is rich in oxygen, improving watershed ecosystems for all kinds of marine species.
Ozone Preserves Quality of Produce
Traditional water treatments for processing produce typically use peroxide, chlorine and peracetic acid, all of which can degrade the quality of the produce and leave a residue. By contrast, ozone leaves no residue and actually preserves the quality and aesthetics of the processed produce – all the while acting effectively and safely as a topical disinfectant.
Moreover, ozone can actually help increase crop yields because it breaks down to oxygen in the water, creating better oxygenated water that produces bigger and healthier plants.
Ozone Systems Provide Data Analytics
Ozone systems can offer sophisticated data analytics for food processors, including automated tracking and data logging of water quality to meet all regulatory compliance, quality assurance and control requirements.
Water input and output connections are part of a network of sensors and software that are imbedded in an automated monitoring system that controls the dose of ozone required effective disinfection.
Furthermore, the system is completely automated – with an option for remote monitoring – and easy to use. Should there be any significant fluctuations or anomalies in the water, the system will provide immediate notification.
Ozone helps reduce costs
The use of ozone can also reduce costs for food and beverage processors. They use less energy because there is no need for hot-water rinses in production processes. Moreover, there is no need to buy, transport or store expensive and hazardous chemicals.
For all these reasons, ozone is the most powerful disinfection technology available on the market today. And, at a time when there is some urgency to eliminate harmful bacteria and CECs in our food chain, Aclarus Ozone provides a complete solution that ensures the utmost safety and quality of water for food and beverage processors.
For more information on how Aclarus can help, please contact us here.