Industry Leader Says USDA Report on Ozone Reinforces Ozone Use As Effective Decontaminate For Food

Ozone decontamination process has 80% consumer acceptability, as shown by an independent study.

Salt Lake City, UT (May 21, 1998) - A new USDA report could help clear the way for the use of ozone as a safe and effective process for decontaminating foods, an industry leader in technology said today.

The USDA journal "Agricultural Outlook" released a new study today stating the use of ozone as a decontaminate for food as safe, effective, environmentally-friendly with an 80% consumer acceptability factor.

USDA Economic Research Service Economist Alex Majchrowicz reports, "The strength of ozone may rest with its versatility and environmental benefits over some existing food sanitizing methods."

Cyclopss Corporation (NASDAQ:OZON) President Bill Stoddard said, "The USDA's report validates all the positive attributes of using ozone in food decontamination. Ozone is a safe and effective alternative to traditionally accepted means to rid meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables of dangerous pathogens."

An independent marketing research firm indicated 80% of consumers preferred products treated with ozone when given the choice of chlorine, radiation or ozone processes.

He reports, "Wastewater discharged by an ozonation process, as a substitute for conventional chlorine-based food washing systems, is free of chlorine residuals, a growing environmental concern in ground water pollution. Food products treated with ozone are also free of disinfectant residues."

"Agricultural Outlook" study reports that the taste of food is not altered by ozone, as compared with other decontamination processes, noting "as a non-thermal method of disinfecting food, ozone reportedly alters taste little, unlike heat based steam and flash pasteurization systems that cook the product. In some foods, ozone proponents indicated flavor is enhanced by ozone's ability to neutralize chemicals, pesticides and bad tastes from gases produced by ripening or decaying food."

The uses of ozone as a food decontaminate according to Majchrowicz has a bright future. "The disinfecting ability of ozone is evidenced by its generally accepted use in treating water supplies in the U.S. and Europe. The first commercial application of ozone to cleanse water was in France in 1906," he writes. "The development of ozone technology in the U.S. food processing industry is dependent on proper safeguards in its use to assure worker safety, economic competitiveness with existing and emerging technologies that sanitize food, as well as its effectiveness in enhancing food safety."