Ozone Chicken Carcass DisinfectionOzone as an air treatment can be used in the poultry industry, from the storage and incubation of eggs, to the breeding of healthy birds, as well as for the effective storage and transport of poultry and meat products.  It can also be used in ozonated water in order to wash and sterilise meat and equipment.

The most important advantage of using ozone is that it leaves no chemical residue.  Even after high concentrations have been used to disinfect an area, it is immediately possible for staff to go back to work in that area without a health risk, and no chemical residue is left on the poultry meat.

REVIEW OF RESEARCH TO DATE:

It has been proven on many occasions that ozone is a highly effective oxidant, which kills bacteria on the surfaces of meat and equipment.

Ozone has been shown to be more effective than other air disinfecting systems such as chemical fogging and UV light.

Tests on Ecoli, L. Pneuniophila, Staphauraeus, MRSA, Shigella sp and Salmonella arizonae show that ozone gas is a highly antibacterial agent, with more than 90% kill rates after 40 minutes, 99.9% kill rates after 60 minutes and 100% kill rates after 2 hours.

Ozonised water has been shown to kill instantly more than 5 log units of Salmonella typhirium and Escherichia coli cells, as well as 4.5 log units of Candida albicans and Zygosaccaromyces bailli.

Ozonised water has been shown to be effective as a disinfectant for poultry carcasses and chill water, with a greater than 99% kill rate of all micro-organisms washed from the carcasses.  In this research, it was shown that there was a reduction of one third in the chemical oxygen demand and a significant increase in light transmission of the treated process water.

The use of ozonised water to wash carcasses results in no significant loss of colour or off-flavour.

The use of ozone during refrigerated storage of poultry has a pronounced effect on flora causing deterioration and consequently prolongs the useful life of poultry in refrigerated storage.

There is evidence to show that strains of Staphylococcus aureus colonize defeathering machinery and become endemic within poultry processing plants, and become resistant to normal cleaning and disinfecting processes, including chlorine.

Current Applications of Ozone:

• Ozone is being used to disinfect incubation rooms and chambers, preventing the use of chemicals which cause a toxic build up on the egg shell surfaces and weaken the immune system of the birds, and keeping the air which is fed into the incubators free from bacteria and viruses.
• Ozonised water can be used as an alternative to chlorinated water, killing the bacteria, which have become resistant to chlorine and conventional cleaning methods.
• In staff washrooms in order to disinfect staff clothing and shoes over night, and to keep bacteria levels down during the day.
• To disinfect equipment, machinery and packaging materials overnight, and to keep bacteria levels in the area low during the day.
• In the chiller room in the air or in the water to eliminate bacteria in the air and on the skin surface.
• In the refrigerated storage of poultry products to increase the shelf life of the meat and prevent spoilage.
• As the birds are growing, the use of ozone in their pens as a gas reduces the amount of bacteria which they are exposed to, reducing the spread of infection and viruses thereby increasing their health and even weight by up to 18%, and improving the colour of their skin.
• For the disinfecting of sheds as an alternative to formaldehyde, because ozone is as effective as formaldehyde in disinfecting, but requires no dormant period in which the sheds have to remain evacuated.  Almost immediately after disinfecting by ozone at high concentrations, the shed is ventilated and can be inhabited by the animals and staff safely.
• Ozone oxidises ammonia gases, methane and carbon dioxide, creating a healthier environment for the animals and staff.
• Hatching hens which are kept in ozonised conditions show an increase in the amount of eggs they lay, and a stronger consistency of the egg shell, because of the corresponding decrease in pathogenic illness and prevention of a toxic build up of disinfectant chemicals when ozone is used.
• To eliminate offensive odours such as burnt feathers etc.