An Irish company has developed a use for ozone gas as a food sterilising agent after several months research at the Department of Microbiology at NUI, Maynooth. The implications for the food processing industry could be significant as ozone could be used as an environmentally friendly way to replace chemicals in the treatment of food.
Following tests, it was found that ozone generating equipment supplied by ZerO3 Technologies could completely eliminate bacteria such as e-coli and salmonella in 90 minutes using relatively low concentrations of the gas.
"These results indicate ozone has enormous commercial potential as an effective sterilising agent for use in the food processing industry. It also has the advantage that it is inexpensive to produce, leaves no residual pollutants and is environmentally friendly," says the company's managing director, Mr Bill Rankin.
The US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has recently granted ozone a "Generally Regarded as Safe" (GRAS) status which means the gas can be used in food production. The commercial potential for the gas could be enhanced when the EU introduces more stringent regulations on food processing.
Ozone is already widely used as a deodorising agent. In the US it is used in water to sterilise foods. The ozone generating equipment can be used safely in open areas, like supermarket fridges, without harmful effects, using less power than a lightbulb. Its use as a deodorising or sterilising agent has no impact on, or connection with, the Ozone Layer, which is a separate natural phenomenon.
"Apart from destroying bacteria and viruses, ozone has also been shown to be particularly effective in destroying germinating fungal spores. We have also found that ozone can be used to significantly extend the shelf life of a variety of perishable food products," says Dr Kevin Kavanagh, who managed the project at Maynooth.
Ozone is highly corrosive and causes most tubing or piping to disintegrate. ZerO3 uses silicon rubber tubing to get around this obstacle.
Ozone is manufactured via high-voltage, low-current power. When converting oxygen (O) to ozone (O) an atom is added, and during the process it grabs onto other particles in the air, breaking them open. Once it becomes ozone, it has a kill power 3,000 times stronger than chlorine, yet is still safe to spray on food. Within 45 minutes it reverts back to oxygen, (O) leaving no waste.
The company spent around £100,000 developing the new equipment, while Forbairt conducted a feasibility study into the process at the outset.
Three people work at the ZerO3 Technologies plant in Shankill, Co Dublin, but Mr Rankin expects to employ eight within the year. A design patent for the ozone generating equipment is currently being prepared under the brand name zerOZone. A limited production run is underway with more than 100 units already sold - buyers include pubs, funeral homes, restaurants and hotels.
