Is ozone safe to use in food processing?
Ozone is a colorless gas at ambient conditions, and is readily detectable by the human nose at 0.010.05 ppm. At low concentrations, ozone has a characteristic pleasant odor, similar to that of fresh air after a thunderstorm. High concentration of ozone gas in air is objectionable and could pose health risks. According to OSHA regulations, the permissible level of exposure to ozone in the workplace environment is 0.1 ppm during a normal 8-hour day (40-hour workweek). The short-term exposure limit is 0.3 ppm for exposure of less than 15 minutes (4 times per day). Therefore, the production and use of ozone in food processing should be controlled and monitored, and excess ozone should be removed by a commercial ozone destruct unit.
