Food safety and food hygiene are essential in order to ensure that the food you handle and produce is safe for consumption. It is possible for consumers to become seriously ill with food poisoning and foodborne illnesses if food safety and hygiene are not maintained. As such, food safety and food hygiene play a crucial role in protecting consumer health.  People who work in the food industry need to understand how important food sanitation is, as well as ozone food sanitation can help them out.

As businesses protect consumers from foodborne illnesses and food poisoning, food safety and hygiene are of utmost importance. The most common cause of food poisoning is the contamination of food by bacteria, viruses, and other germs, causing the consumer to become ill immediately after consuming the food. Food poisoning usually comes back to normal within a week, but it can sometimes become serious and require immediate medical attention. Understanding food poisoning prevention is therefore critical.

Food businesses are legally obligated to carry out food processing in a hygienic and safe manner under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006. In violation of the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006, it is unlawful to provide unhealthy food to consumers. Therefore, food safety and hygiene should be a priority.

While these numbers are small, with proper sanitation practices in place, these illnesses, deaths, and sufferings could have been avoided.

The consumers are on high alert in the post COVID world about the way their food is prepared. It’s possible that fruit and vegetables handled by someone with the virus might carry the new coronavirus. A fresh round of scrutiny is being directed at food sanitation and the processes that both the food and beverage industry and supermarkets use to make sure food is safe and clean.

Food sources are required by law to be disinfected before they are sold to consumers, including grocers, restaurants, bars, and all other commercial food suppliers. Among the best available technologies for doing so, ozonated water is slowly replacing older sanitation methods for many applications.

It has been traditional to sanitize food with chemicals such as chlorine, but oxygenation has proven to be a safer and cleaner alternative. When injected into water, ozone is created in order to kill harmful bacteria and impurities. When it is injected to treat water, ozone water is produced.

Benefits of Ozonation in Food Sanitizing

Here is why ozone is now crucial to food processing and food safety:

1. It kills microbes faster and more effectively than chlorine.
2. Compared to traditional disinfectants like chlorine, ozone kills bacteria significantly faster and up to 50 times more effectively. Additionally, ozone is produced on site, reducing environmental impacts associated with storing, transporting, and distributing chemicals.
3. In food processing, ozone can be used to kill pathogens and microbes without using any heat.
4. It is safer for food processing handlers to use Ozone since it doesn’t use heat to disinfect. Further, ozone is more cost-effective than thermal sanitation because it uses less electricity to heat.
5. Using ozone to disinfect surfaces and treat water is a non-chemical alternative.
6. It has been proven that ozone is both safer for human health and more environmentally friendly than chlorine and other conventional disinfectants since it evaporates into oxygen instead of leaving chemical residues.
7. Water (aqueous ozone) or air can be used to generate ozone. It frees up space and reduces transport costs since heavy vats of chemicals do not need to be stored.
8. Neither food nor water is contaminated by it.
9. As opposed to chlorine, ozone does not leave residue on food. Food tastes and smells the same. No chemicals are left behind that can harm our bodies over time.
10.  Preserving meat, fish, poultry, and egg products for a longer period of time.
11. Reduce pesticides in fresh produce by sanitizing them.
12. Securing areas with a high risk of microbes (food storage rooms, prep stations).
13. Food production and lab personnel’s work clothes need to be sanitized and deodorized.
14. Cleaning of surfaces in contact with food, including conveyors, without using chemicals.
15. Packaging and containers can be sanitized with ozone.
16. By using ozone throughout the food production process, harmful contaminants can be eliminated. Every day, we are exposed to ozone in some way. In the fight against food-borne illnesses and bacterial infections, it’s become a valuable ally.

Potential Concerns of Using Ozone

The food and beverage industry have resisted the idea of removing their chlorine vats because ozonation treatments and processes are constantly evolving.

The viruses, spores, and cysts are effectively destroyed by even low dosages of ozone. Other disinfection technologies are more complex than ozonation. In addition, chlorine treatment has a relatively high initial cost.

So, What’s the Verdict?

A safe and hygienic work environment will help produce a productive workforce, so creating a food safety and hygiene policy will ensure all employees are aware of how to contribute to a safe and hygienic work environment. Food sanitation using ozone generators should be part of your business’ food safety and hygiene policies.

The post-COVID-19 consumer is rightfully concerned with how food is processed and sanitized. Traditional methods of food sanitization, such as chlorine, are no longer acceptable. Using the latest technology in food sanitization can benefit both businesses and the general public. Prior to cooking food, ensure it is sanitized. Such as, you can use ozonated water to wash fruits and vegetables before preparing them. What next? You can start by checking out our best ozone generators for food processing. Also, let us know if you still have any queries about use of ozone food sanitation. We will surely help you out.