Some Ozone Applications in Seafood

Abstract

The use of ozonized seawater to reduce and eliminate bacterial pathogens in mariculture facilities and to extend shelf life of marine food products is demonstrated. Consequent benefits of this treatment are also discussed. Laboratory and pilot experiments were conducted using ozone gas to reduce disease-producing Vibrio sp. bacteria at a shrimp (Litopenaeus vannameii) hatchery in Ecuador, South America. Pacific Ocean seawater was treated in a 1,540 L capacity fiberglass contact tower (5-7 min retention) with an ozone oxidant residual of 0.07 mg/L. Prior to ozone treatment, Vibrio determined by TCBS plating was too numerous to count, causing shrimp to die of disease (30 tanks of 13,000 L each). After treatment, Vibrio counts and shrimp disease were eliminated, ozonized seawater decreased the time required for normal molting of shrimp and the total growth cycle was reduced by three days versus control water. From June 1991 until September 1992, survival rates of larval shrimp were robust, routine antibiotic addition was reduced, and one additional growth cycle was realized. Ozonized ice (fresh water) was prepared in the Milford Laboratory CT, USA; Gloucester Food Tech Lab, MA, USA; and a field station (brine water) for sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Homer, AK. USA. In these studies, squid (Loligo pealei) and commercially captured salmon demonstrated a reduction in spoilage and extension of shelf life of 3 to 5 days' time using ozonized ice. Bacteria associated with commercial ice-producing machines were reduced by 4 logs using ozone treatment. In addition, no flavor aberration was noted using ozonized ice.

Emerging Seafood Preservation Techniques to Extend Freshness and Minimize Vibrio Contamination

“…Ozone treatments oxidize various cellular components leading to membrane leakage and eventually cell death ( Figure 1 ), it has high biocidal activity, requires short contact times, and can take place at the aquaculture level or on the final product. As an example of the former, applying 0.07 mg/L of ozone directly to seawater at shrimp hatcheries has been shown to allow the survival of shrimp, but eliminate pathogenic vibrios ( Blogoslawski and Stewart, 2011 ). Studies on seafood spoilage are generally assessed based on several metrics including bacterial levels (CFU/g), the levels of gases produced from seafood breakdown such as total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA-N), total volatile acid (TVA), and ranking the food on fit-for-consumption scales based on sight and smell ( Ordóñez et al, 2000 ; Arkoudelos et al, 2007 ; Pantazi et al, 2008 ).…”

The effects of tea polyphenol‐ozonated slurry ice treatment on the quality of large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) during chilled storage

“…found that compared with flake ice, the counts of aerobic mesophiles, psychrotrophic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and proteolytic microorganisms in megrim muscle with ozonized slurry ice treatment for 14 days significantly decreased, which highlighted the antibacterial effect of ozone. Meanwhile, ozone is maintained in the sealed ice and released slowly with the melting of ice during storage and transportation, which can improve the problem of the instability of ozone preservation 22 …”

Nonthermal Processes for Shelf‐Life Extension of Seafoods: A Revisit

“…The interaction of molecular diatomic oxygen (O 2 ) to an oxygen atom gives rise to ozone (O 3 ), which is a highly unstable triatomic oxygen molecule (De Mendonça Silva & Gonçalves, ). Ozone has been employed as an oxidizing agent in water treatment and in the food industry and is considered a powerful sanitizer (Blogoslawski & Stewart, ; Gonçalves, ). In recent years, ozonification has attracted more interest for use in fish preservation due to its ability to reduce spoilage organisms (Glatman, Sachs, Khanin, Drabkin, & Gelman, ; Pastoriza, Bernardez, Sampedro, Cabo, & Herrera, ).…”