For decades, the produce industry has been using chlorine for disinfecting produce and removing traces of pesticides, but chlorine is not 100 percent effective at killing bacteria. Moreover, chlorine leaves residual traces that are harmful to the human body and the environment. Health experts have long expressed concerns about the residue left by chlorine treatment. Now, there is a significantly better alternative — ozonated water. 

Ozone is a strong oxidant that acts as a natural disinfection agent. Disinfection using ozone removes the need for dangerous chemical disinfectants and is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemical sanitization products. Ozone acts 3,000 times faster than chlorine and is 50 times more effective. After the sanitization process ozone simply reforms into oxygen molecules, without emitting any harmful by-products.

Research has verified that disinfecting fruits and vegetables with ozonated water is superior to using conventional safety and sanitation methods such as chlorine to remove traces of pesticides. It’s important to understand what harmful chemicals are on our produce to better understand how ozone works to remove them. 

Pesticides are Toxic, and Toxins are Harmful to  Humans 

The most widely used disinfectant for produce such as apples and peaches is organophosphates. The US Department of Agriculture reports that almost 81 percent of apple and peach produce is sprayed with an organophosphate treatment. While this disinfectant might work well in protecting these crops, it has tremendous side effects on humans. This may come as a surprise, but these chemicals are not designed to be “pest-specific”. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the organophosphate diazinon works by damaging acetylcholinesterase, a cholinergic enzyme critical for controlling the nervous system. In short, the same chemicals that short-circuit the nervous systems of pests may also be poisoning the humans that eat the treated produce.

Research on Organophosphates 

A study carried out by the CDC reported that many children with leukemia tested positive for high concentrations of organophosphate in their blood. Other studies suggest that there is a strong connection between pesticide exposure and diseases such as lymphoma and leukemia before ingesting small amounts of pesticide-treated produce. The research shows that chemicals that enter our body through regular produce consumption accumulate over time in our bodies.  

How Ozone Can Remove Hazardous Chemicals From Produce 

Over the past two decades, US consumption of fruits and vegetables has significantly increased. During the same period, however, incidents related to foodborne diseases have also grown. Now recognized for the serious crisis, the problem of pesticide ingestion is gaining public attention. 

Before industrial farmers began the widespread adoption of using harmful pesticides to control crop waste, cleaning methods worked well enough to remove minor amounts of chemical residuals from our food. Heavier doses of toxic chemicals, however, leave more toxic residue, which can cause reactions that harm the human body. Ozonated water and ozone sprays reduce toxins and leave no residue. 

Ozone as an Oxidizing Agent  

The primary use of ozonated water in the produce industry is as an oxidizing agent. Ozone works faster than chlorine and does not leave any chemical residue that could harm us. Ozone is reactive at high concentrations, but then quickly decays into ordinary oxygen within 20 minutes. 

Ozonated water is a much stronger element than oxygen because of its high-energy molecular bond. This decomposition into oxygen is what makes ozone safe for food products because it leaves no residue behind. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly rinsed with ozonated water. The wash water can be reused after a combination of filtration and ozonation.

Ozone Water Makes Produce Safe 

Ozonated water — or ozone water as it’s sometimes called — is used in multiple industries, including bottled water bottling plants. Ozone also stops fruits and vegetables from collecting bacteria, deflects insects, and halts the spread of mold and yeast during shipping. Furthermore, ozonated water has been recognized by the British Organic Soil Association. It can be used to clean organic agriculture products and leaves no chemical residue on food.

The Bottom Line 

Industrialized farming has revolutionized food production, but in an unwanted side-effect, our food now potentially carries disease-causing bacteria that can cause significant harm. The use of chlorine may be harmful to humans, but with ozonated water, the produce industry and consumers now have an effective method of removing the toxic effect of pesticides without more chemicals. More consumers across the world are now demanding that their produce be free from both bacteria and chemicals. With numerous studies demonstrating the efficiency of ozone as a cleaning treatment for fruits and vegetables, it is time to consider ozone a different, safer approach to food preparation and cleansing.

A major central kitchen and food processing company in Taipei, Taiwan prepares ingredients and meals from central locations and delivers them to satellite kitchens. The ingredients get turned into meals for numerous restaurant clients around Taipei City. They focus on delivering food from a variety of cuisines including local Chinese, Taiwanese, hot pot, and even fine dining.

Problem

Before sending the ingredients to satellite kitchens, staff at the central kitchen need to clean and sanitize all produce and seafood, as this is prone to bacteria. They had previously been using watered-down chemical agents to soak produce and remove bacteria and pesticide residues — as well as extend the shelf life of the ingredients. But this was time-consuming, as it takes four hours to sanitize produce this way. Staff needed to soak produce overnight so it would be ready to serve the next day. Additionally, using chemical disinfectants is not safe for humans over time, as it leaves chemical residue on the food. The central kitchen was looking for a faster, more environmentally friendly, and safer way to disinfect food ingredients.

Solution

The central kitchen attached the Water Disinfection System (WDS) by BioSure to every sink in their kitchens to pour ozonated water from faucets. They use post-filtration water to generate ozonated water through the WDS electrolytic ozone generator, creating a sanitizing agent to remove bacteria from produce. Time savings are immense, as with ozonated water it just takes 30 seconds for the sanitation process to work, versus four hours with chemicals. It doesn’t leave any harmful chemical residues. There are also substantial cost savings in not needing to buy and store large vats of chemical agents, plus the cost savings in labor when staff mix chemical cleaning agents together — a process that is prone to human error. Now the disinfection of produce and seafood is faster, cheaper, and better, with their customers benefiting the most from ozonated water.

A private membership club in Taiwan hosts regular dinner and lunch events for a small group of VIPs. These are typically business-oriented networking events or exclusive meetings. The facilities are hidden away in a private enclave, and luxurious enough for a group of people who only expect the best.

Problem

The staff of the private club was holding regular lunch and dinner events and found that bad food smells from an oil trap were emanating into the areas where members congregate. This was caused by leftover food and kitchen waste — with the odors coming from the drainage wastewater connected to a busy kitchen. The staff was urgently looking for a way to eliminate the odors, as they were getting complaints from members and the odors were diminishing the exclusive and luxurious feel of the establishment.

Solution

The Ozone Water System (OWS-1) was installed on kitchen water lines to pump ozonated water into the oil interceptor, part of a robust wastewater disinfection solution for the VIP club. Ozonated water’s oxidizing properties decrease unwanted smells and reduce cleaning time, as does ozonated water’s ability to dissolve fat inside of the oil interceptor. It works by pumping a high concentration of ozonated water five minutes per hour for 24 hours a day, disinfecting automatically all day and all night. This was enough to kill the bacteria and eliminate bad odors. The automated system means no human labor is needed in the disinfection process. The staff is now happy to bring an exceptional level of service to elite clients without the use of harmful chemicals.