Cutting Food Loss Is Climate Action Too: Ozone for Storage and Shelf Life
Introduction
Climate discussions usually focus on energy, transport, and industry, but there is another large item: part of the food that is produced is lost before it is eaten. Once food is produced, the water, energy, fertiliser, and labour used to produce it are wasted along with it. Reducing food loss is therefore an indirect but effective way to cut emissions and resource use without increasing production.
This post looks at where ozone can contribute in storage and production, where it is limited, and the conditions for applying it safely.
Where Does Food Loss Happen?
A significant share of food loss occurs in the middle of the chain between production and consumption: post-harvest, storage, processing, and distribution. The most common causes at these stages are mould and microbial spoilage, ripening that shortens product life, and improper storage conditions.
What Does Ozone Do in Storage?
At low, controlled concentrations, ozone can help reduce airborne mould spores in a storage room and early microbial growth on surfaces. Ozone is also known to oxidise ripening-accelerating gases such as ethylene, which can help slow ripening in fruit and vegetable stores. And because it reverts to oxygen after use, it leaves no chemical residue on the product.
On the production side, it can also contribute to mould and biofilm control in facilities such as dairy and cheese plants; we covered this in a separate post.
Limits: Ozone Is Not the Same for Every Product
To be honest here: ozone is not a miracle and does not give the same result for every product. Some products can show ozone sensitivity such as surface colour or texture change; the suitable concentration, duration, and conditions vary with product type, storage temperature, and humidity. How much ozone extends shelf life also depends on the product and conditions, so instead of a general number-of-days promise, pilot testing and product-specific validation are needed.
Safety: Ambient Ozone Must Be Under Control
Worker safety is the basic condition for using ozone in storage areas. Ambient ozone levels must be measured continuously, the system must stop automatically (interlock) when people are inside or when a limit is exceeded, and residual ozone should be reduced to a safe level with a destruction unit where needed.
The Water Side: Recovering Wash Water
In fruit and vegetable processing, the washing line is also a critical point for both water use and cross-contamination. We described circular use of wash water with ozone in this post.
The OCS Ozone Approach
At OCS Ozone, for storage and production facilities we design the ozone dose and safety system together according to product, room volume, and temperature/humidity conditions; we recommend pilot testing and ambient measurement before commissioning.
If you would like to assess reducing food loss with ozone at your storage or production facility, get in touch for a free technical assessment.