The use of ozone in controlling microbial growth on alfalfa sprouts during germination
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Abstract
Minimally processed foods (MPF) such as fresh vegetables are very popular in the diets of many people due to their healthy appeal. Alfalfa sprouts are one of these MPF that has received great attention in recent years due to the prevalence of food poisoning that has been associated with them. In the autumn of 1998, the FDA issued a statement warning consumers of high-risk groups to avoid consumption of sprouts due to the potential health hazard that they present. Ozone has been used as a disinfectant in water treatment for almost a century. Ozone is one of the strongest oxidizing agents known and will readily form H202, superoxide, and HO radicals in the presence of water and is an effective antimicrobial agent. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using ozone as a treatment in reducing the natural flora on alfalfa sprouts grown from seeds. The effectiveness of ozone is limited by physical barriers, its rapid reactivity and its detrimental effect on the product being treated. An ozone treatment was shown to be effective in reducing the natural flora on alfalfa sprouts by about 2 log, to about 10^7 cfu/g. Ozone is a viable alternative to chlorine in the reduction of natural flora on alfalfa sprouts prior to retail sale. The best treatment process was determined to be treatment via addition and subsequent stirring of the sprouts in ozonated water for a period of twenty minutes.