current sanitation procedures, but to complement 

 current sanitation regimes," says James Yuan, an 

 investigator with Air Liquide Corp., the 

 company that provided the ozone-generating 

 equipment. "If you don't clean down food 

 contact surfaces of flesh, blood and scales, ozone 

 won't be effective." 



Now, many seafood processors use 

 chlorine as a sanitizing agent. 



Ozone has many advantages over current 

 chemical antibacterial agents, such as chlorine, 

 when used as a sanitizing agent for utensils and 

 equipment, according to Yuan. 



"Ozone doesn't leave any chemical 

 residues like chlorine," he says. It also doesn't 

 produce any harmful byproducts, says Yuan. 



One difference is that chlorine is cheaper 

 than ozone, he adds. 



Since the early 1900s, ozone has been 

 widely used for disinfecting water in swimming 

 pools, spas, cooling towers and sewage plants. 



Prior to 2001, ozone could only be used to 

 treat bottled water in the United States. In recent 

 years, researchers found that ozone was an 

 effective antibacterial agent for food and process 

 water, such as poultry chiller water. 



Because ozone does not form or leave 

 harmful chemical residues when it is applied to 

 food or food contact surfaces, the FDA extended 

 its use last year for direct contact with all food. 



Safety Important for 

 Processors 



In the seafood industry, quality and safety 

 are top priorities. 



All seafood processors who handle clams, 

 oysters, mussels, crabmeat and certain species of 

 fish must adhere to the U.S. Food and Drug 

 Administration's (FDA) seafood safety program 

 initiative known as Hazard Analysis & Critical 

 Control Point (HACCP). 



Implemented in 1997, HACCP is required 

 for most seafood dealers, processors and import- 

 ers. Through the program, processors and dis- 

 tributors learn how to prevent, eliminate or mini- 

 mize the biological, chemical and physical haz- 

 ards in seafood that could cause consumers to 

 suffer illnesses or injuries, some of which could 



be life-threatening. For example, processors 

 must ensure that shellfish are harvested from 

 state-approved waters. 



While HACCP is a management tool that 

 addresses seafood safety, the program rests on 

 Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). These 

 rules address product quality and sanitation — 

 from the freshness of seafood to cleanliness of 

 food contact surfaces. The control of spoilage 

 bacteria that causes unpleasant odors and flavors 

 is managed under GMP while harmful bacteria 

 is handled under HACCP. 



Although ozone can destroy disease- 

 causing bacteria, the object of this project was to 

 control the contamination of seafood by spoilage 

 bacteria. 



'To minimize the spread of spoilage and 

 harmful bacteria to seafood, enhanced sanitation 

 control procedures are being developed by both 

 industry and government investigators," says 

 Nash. 



"Based on this research, ozone seems a 

 promising broad-use disinfecting agent for 

 controlling spoilage bacteria that should be 

 considered a part of any seafood sanitation 

 protocol." 



The project also reinforced the importance 

 of frequent cleaning schedules during a 

 production shift. 



"Our study underscored the importance of 

 intermittent cleaning and sanitation during 

 processing," says Blakistone. "Many processors 

 thoroughly clean utensils and equipment after a 

 production shift has ended. If the frequency of 

 sanitation schedules were increased within a 

 shift, the result could be shelf life extension for 

 highly perishable seafood products." 



Blakistone says further ozone studies are 

 needed. "The next step could be to incorporate 

 ozone in ice that is used to pack fish," she says. 



"Ozonated ice is a concept that was 

 scientifically evaluated on salmon during the 

 1980s. While the results of our research should 

 encourage seafood processors to examine the 

 benefits of cleaning fish with ozonated water, 

 future projects should address the shelf life 

 advantages for storing and distributing raw fish 

 in ozonated ice." □ 



ozone study at Hanover Sea Products. 

 MIDDLE: Ozone seems to improve the 

 shelf life of uncooked fish. 

 BOTTOM: Ozone also enhances the 

 freshness of raw fish during refrigeration. 



COASTWATCH 25 



