In flour mills, mycotoxins such as aflatoxin and ochratoxin, insect contamination, and bacterial load threaten product safety during the storage and processing of raw materials including wheat, chickpea, lentil, and buckwheat. Conventional phosphine gas fumigation cannot be used in organic-certified production; ozone fills this gap in a residue-free, organic-compatible manner.
Ozone technology comes into play at three critical points in the flour sector: in raw material silos and pre-processing grain disinfection, in finished product storage and packaging areas, and in processing equipment surface and CIP processes. Continuous 0.1–0.3 ppm ozone application in storage environments achieves 99.99% inactivation of aflatoxin-producing moulds such as Aspergillus flavus (AOAC test protocol). The insect development cycle is interrupted, eliminating the need for chemical fumigation. EU legislation (EC 1881/2006) sets a limit of 2 μg/kg for aflatoxin B1 in cereals; ozone makes compliance with this limit far more manageable.
In high-fat alternative flour varieties such as buckwheat and chickpea, ozone dose must be carefully calibrated: excessive dose can accelerate fat oxidation. Pilot testing and sensory evaluation are carried out as standard by OCS Ozone for each new application.