Development and evaluation of an ozonated water system for antimicrobial treatment of durum wheat

Ozonated water is reported to be effective in reducing the microbial load in foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains. Ozonated water may be an effective alternative to chlorinated water in treating durum wheat before milling. Therefore, durum wheat was washed with ozonated water and analyzed for yeast and mold count (YMC) and aerobic plate count (APC). A system for producing and monitoring ozonated water was developed. The effect of water quality (tap, distilled, and ultra-pure), temperature (7, 15, and 25 degrees C), and pH (2, 4, and 6.5) was evaluated on the following: steady-state dissolved ozone concentration, ozone decay constant, half-life, mass transfer coefficient, equilibrium ozone concentration, and solubility ratio. The study of these parameters was important to attain a stable, high dissolved ozone concentration at the outset of washing and to have information for system improvement and scale-up. A 1% acetic acid solution (pH 2) at 15 degrees C resulted in high dissolved ozone concentration (21.8 mg/L) and long half-life (9.2 min). Subsequently, wheat was washed with 5 wash water types: distilled water, ozonated water (16.5 mg/L), chlorinated water (700 mg/L), acetic acid solution (1%), and acetic acid + ozonated water (1%, 20.5 mg/L). The treated samples were analyzed for YMC and APC. The acetic acid + ozonated water treatment was the most effective, with a reduction of 4.1 and 3.2 log(10) colony forming units/g in YMC and APC, respectively. Though ozonated water was not very effective alone, it was useful in combination with acetic acid.