The need for microorganism control in the food industry has promoted research in food processing technologies. Ozone is considered to be a promising food preserving technique and has gained great interest due to its strong oxidative properties and significant antimicrobial efficiency, and because its decomposition leaves no residues in foods. In this ozone technology review, the properties and the oxidation potential of ozone, and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect the microorganism inactivation efficiency of both gaseous and aqueous ozone, are explained, as well as the mechanisms of ozone inactivation of foodborne pathogenic bacteria, fungi, mould, and biofilms. This review focuses on the latest scientific studies on the effects of ozone in controlling microorganism growth, maintaining food appearance and sensorial organoleptic qualities, assuring nutrient contents, enhancing the quality of food, and extending food shelf life, e.g., vegetables, fruits, meat, and grain products. The multifunctionality effects of ozone in food processing, in both gaseous and aqueous form, have promoted its use in the food industries to meet the increased consumer preference for a healthy diet and ready-to-eat products, although ozone may present undesirable effects on physicochemical characteristics on certain food products at high concentrations. The combined uses of ozone and other techniques (hurdle technology) have shown a promotive future in food processing. It can be concluded from this review that the application of ozone technology upon food requires increased research; specifically, the use of treatment conditions such as concentration and humidity for food and surface decontamination.
Keywords: food industry; food preservation; food safety; hurdle technology; microorganism; ozone.