4-28 FB Ozone on Fruit

 The last time you heard someone say something good about the ozone, Al Gore probably wasn't even born yet, but according to research done at Newcastle University, ozone can be used to substantially reduce spoilage of many fruits and vegetables.  Hi, I'm David Sparks, and in a moment I'll explain how green and ozone can actually go together.

Ozone reduces fungal spoilage of fruits and vegetables according to the journal Science Daily. Storing fruits and vegetables in ozone-enriched environments reduces spoilage. Experts explain that ozone treatment could be a safe, effective replacement for pesticides as it leaves no residue on foods.

 It’s estimated that up to 30% of fresh produce can be lost due to microbial spoilage. Low levels of gaseous ozone are able to prevent fungal spoilage in a wide range of stored fresh produce, including strawberries, tomatoes, grapes and plums. Scientific work has shown that enriching the storage environment with ozone causes a substantial decline in fungal spore production as well as a reduction in visible lesions on fruits that are already infected. Fruit stored at low levels of ozone for up to 8 days prevented almost 95% of disease from developing, depending on the fruit and levels of fungal infection.