Effectiveness of gaseous ozone on and bacterial loads on retailed meat sold at Iraqi Wasit markets.

Background: Ozone (O) is a promising alternative antibacterial agent that has recently been used in meat processing. The understanding of the appropriate functional settings of O for addressing food safety problems is still insufficient.

Aim: The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the effects of exposure to O on the bacteriological quality of retail meat inoculated with at refrigeration temperatures.

Methods: Chicken and cattle meat were inoculated with 7 log CFU/g of previously isolated from fresh and chilled retail meat. Using an O generator (Ivation, Multipurpose Air Sterilizing, USA), the meat samples were treated with O gas (0.5 ppm) for 20 and 40 minutes at temperatures ranging from 3°C to 7°C for 48 hours. Anaerobic and aerobic bacterial growth, as well as were assessed.

Results: The growth rates of , total aerobic bacteria, and anaerobic bacteria in chilled meat samples were all slowed by significant reduction by 0.75, 1.13, and 0.7 log CFU/g, respectively, when exposed to O gas ( ≤ 0.05). Compared to control samples kept at 3°C-7°C for a further 24 hours, the decrease was greater with an additional exposure time of 20 minutes. In contrast to the samples that did not appear to be exposed to O, the total bacterial count of the samples exposed to O showed a statistically significant reduction ( ≤ 0.01) compared to the samples that were not exposed to O. This decrease is important for the health of the population.

Conclusion: This study explored the use of O experience as a potential antibacterial agent for meat and meat products stored in refrigerators. The results of this research may support further applications of O exposure, such as the installation of an O generator inside a refrigerator. However, further research is needed on O levels and exposure durations.