Ozone is a highly oxidative gas that easily
decomposes (especially under UV light) to
produce oxygen. Ozone is on the FDA GRAS
list and its current use in meat processing is
limited to water and surface sanitizer (oxidative
power) and degreaser roles. According
to Lazar (2006a) , the ability of ozonated
water to both continuously clean and sanitize
eliminates the need for a sanitation shift
break during production, making meat processing
plants productive 24/7. Several
researchers investigated the possibility of
using ozonated water to decontaminate meat
(Kim et al. 1999 ; Castillo et al. 2003 ;
Kalchayanand et al. 2008 ), although most
agree that a major drawback is its ineffectiveness
in the presence of organic matter (Moore
et al. 2000 ). The inactivity of ozone in the
presence of organics and its short half - life
makes meat decontamination diffi cult