Ozone treatment in abattoirs can be used to successfully to reduce the number of germs on the surfaces of processing machinery, plants, and processed food products. Fresh and smoked pork sausage, bacon, skinless and natural casing wieners, lunch meat, and hams are included. Sodium lactate is a common organic acid solution used for sanitation. Ozone treatment is a successful alternative solution that enables financial savings.
Abattoir Ozone Treatment
To suppress the growth of Listeria monocytogenes, equipment surfaces should be cleaned with ozone water for pre-operational and in-process sanitation. Antimicrobial product washing (casing soak, product spray), post-lethality treatment (of cooked foods), and drain cleaning should also be cleaned.
Other things to consider:
- Equipment sanitizer (hard surface)
- Pre-operational sanitation
- In-process sanitation
- In-process anti-microbial product wash
- Casing soak
- Product spray (showering)
- Post-lethality product treatment
- Allowing ozone water to gently flow over the surface while killing surface microorganisms, product should be sprayed at various spots along the conveyor. With ozone water at low pressure to ensure good soaking.
When necessary, ozone might be used with quaternary ammonium sanitizer. The process is to clean, rinse with ozone-infused water, and then rinse with the sanitizer.
Biozones Ozone System Design
The needed reduction in microorganism levels is achieved in a short period of time by dosing ozone to recirculation, to ensure a residual aqueous ozone level. An electronic ozone monitor/controller in the water storage tank is set to a minimum of 2 mg/L and a maximum of 3.0 mg/L. This maximum dissolved ozone concentration reduces the possibility of ozone off-gassing at the plant’s points of use. Any unused ozonated water is returned to the storage tank via the ozonation system’s piping within five minutes of it leaving the tank. This maintains the aqueous ozone levels in the spray nozzles at or above 0.55 mg/L.
Benefits of Ozone Treatment in Abattoirs
The use of aqueous ozone makes it possible to replace earlier potable water sprays on conveyor belts. Ozone eliminates the need for chemical sanitizers by reducing/preventing bacterial build-up on production belts and preventing surface contamination of meat products while having no lasting impact on the equipment or the meat that is being processed.
Washing RTE meat products in ozone-containing water has no effect on their organoleptic qualities, and the ozone system has no impact on the plant’s output rate.
Proven Antimicrobial Performance Due To Ozone Treatment
The graphs below provide a comparison of average Adenosine Tri-Phosphate counts from a plant in 2003 (before ozone) and 2004. (after installing Ozone Treatment in Abattoir).
The centralized ozone system, which was built for hard surface and direct product cleanliness at a cost of R500000, has been saving R 1.24 million annually just by getting rid of organic acid.
Just over 4.84 months passed before the equipment paid for itself (or ROI).
Other cost advantages of using ozone treatment in abattoirs include decreased purchases of other chemicals, handling, reporting, and automatic operation.
Products that have undergone ozone washing are suitable for organic use and are devoid of any lingering chemical residues.
Ozone, HACCP Procedures
- The ozone plant can use Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points, which are necessary for all meat processing facilities, with the addition of the following ozone protocols:
- Minimum 30 second contact period with all surfaces during product exposure (meat products and equipment).
- Ozone Concentration in Water: The aqueous ozone concentration at the application locations must be at least 0.55 ppm.
- Minimum water flow at spray nozzles, as measured at the application site, is 0.7 bar of pressure.
- Through non-shear, high-flow, low-pressure spray nozzles, ozone-containing water is sprayed (validated periodically per plant HACCP procedures). Ozone does not de-gas from the water sprays under these circumstances.
- 2.0 ppm (mg/L) DO3 (dissolved ozone) at 30 seconds (Ct value = 1.0 mg-min/L) is the HACCP Critical Control Point. The minimum level ensures that dissolved ozone levels are kept at or above 0.55 mg/L at the nozzles. This quantity of dissolved ozone, which will be sprayed, will lower the amount of Listeria monocytogenes.
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