Reducing food safety pathogens & spoilage microbes on food products using in-pack ozone

Fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds account for at least 48,000 cases of food poisoning in the UK each year (1). As many fresh produce products are eaten raw and a low infectious dose results in human infection, these products can represent a signficant threat to consumers. Anacail have previously demonstrated that their in-pack ozone generation technology can significantly improve the shelf life of berry and tomatoes. Ozone is a powerful but short-lived germicidal agent which can reduce the numbers of microbes on food, including food poisoning bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, in seconds. With the Anacail system ozone is generated from the conversion of oxygen within the pack. The inherent instability of ozone means it quickly degrades back to oxygen within the pack. However in this interim time it is able to reduce the amount of potentially harmful microbes present on food, as well as reduce mould spores to improve the quality of the food product. We now want to validate that the technology can reduce a variety of food spoilage microbes naturally present on tomatoes and berries, as well as determine whether in-pack ozone can reduce a Norovirus surrogate and human pathogens, E. coli and Salmonella enterica on food products which have been associated with these pathogenic organisms in the past.