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Cryptosporidiosis associated with ozonated apple cider.
Brian G Blackburn1, Jacek M Mazurek, Michele Hlavsa
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. blackburn@stanford.edu
Emerging Infectious Diseases
|May 18, 2006
Summary
An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis was linked to ozonated apple cider. Ozonation treatment was insufficient to prevent this foodborne illness, raising concerns about its effectiveness in ensuring apple cider safety.
Area of Science:
- Food safety
- Microbiology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Cryptosporidiosis is a significant cause of diarrheal disease.
- Apple cider is a popular beverage susceptible to microbial contamination.
- Ozonation is a water treatment method sometimes applied to beverages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cause of a cryptosporidiosis outbreak.
- To determine the effectiveness of ozonation in preventing pathogen transmission in apple cider.
Main Methods:
- Molecular subtyping of Cryptosporidium isolates.
- Epidemiological investigation of outbreak cases.
- Analysis of apple cider processing and ozonation parameters.
Main Results:
- A specific strain of Cryptosporidium was identified in both human cases and apple cider.
- Molecular and epidemiological data strongly linked the outbreak to consumption of ozonated apple cider.
- Ozonation process parameters were found to be insufficient to eliminate Cryptosporidium contamination.
Conclusions:
- Ozonation of apple cider was ineffective in preventing this cryptosporidiosis outbreak.
- The safety of ozonated apple cider for consumption is questionable.
- Further research is needed to optimize or validate pathogen inactivation methods for apple cider.