Ozone as an antimicrobial agent moves closer to FDA approval

Though ozone has been used in other countries in food processing, and in the United States for water treatment, FDA regulations have not yet listed it as an approved food additive. Despite the designation of ozone in 1997 as "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) by an independent panel convened by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), federal approval of ozone use requires an extensive petition for consideration by the FDA. That petition has been accepted and the FDA has filed it and designated it for expedited review. Final action on the petition is expected by no later than next February.

The use of ozone as a food safety additive could become an important tool for the treatment, storage and processing of nearly every type of food, including meats, poultry, fruits and vegetables, in the United States. (See earlier article).

"Although the food safety system has worked well, it's important to get ahead of the curve, and the use of ozone as an antimicrobial agent can help the industry do that," said Dr. Chuck Sopher, director of EPRI's Agriculture and Food Technology Alliance (AFTA), based in Washington, D.C.

"Consumers view microbial - meaning germ and bacteria - contamination as their highest food safety concern, and the organisms responsible for diseases continue to mutate. Ozone is an extremely 'user-friendly' agent that represents another weapon in the arsenal to help assure the long-term safety of the U.S. food supply."

According to Dr. Dee Graham, manager of EPRI's AFTA Food Office, ozone works as an oxidant to damage the cell walls of harmful microorganisms, thus killing them and leaving only oxygen - but no tastes, odors or flavors – as a byproduct. Also, because of ozone's short half-life, it leaves no residual in the food.

Besides ozone's initial applications as a food additive, Sopher added that it may offer other beneficial uses in the long run, such as replacing current agricultural pesticides that are being phased out of use, enabling safe storage of crops without the need for fumigation, and providing odor control in the fish industry and in animal operations.

At its most recent AFTA meeting, EPRI provided its utility members with an ozone workshop that reviewed the FDA petition development process and related issues. Organizations that assisted EPRI with the petition include the National Food Processors Association, the American Meat Institute, the National Chicken Council, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, and industrial companies including Praxair, BOC Gasses, Novazone, Dell Industries, RGF Environmental Group, and Air Liquide.

EPRI, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, is a center for public interest energy and environmental research.

Edited by Pam Ahlberg,
Managing Editor, Food Online