Modelling microbial load reduction in foods due to ozone impact

Ozone is a strong sanitizer that can be applied as a convenient washing-treatment to foods. The main objective was to study the ozone impact on Listeria innocua in red bell peppers, total mesophiles in strawberries and total coliforms in watercress. Modelling microbial load reduction throughout treatment time and due to ozone effect were also targets. The microbiological reductions observed for ozonated samples were higher than the ones obtained for water dipping. However, total coliforms/watercress were less sensitive to both deionized-water and ozonated-water washings. A Weibull-based model was adequate in describing microbiological reductions and may contribute to design more effective sanitizing processes