Ozone distribution for bulk produce decontamination

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Recalls of fresh produce due to bacterial contamination occur regularly. Every year Canadians become ill or die from consumingcontaminated fresh produce. A 2014 occurrence of Listeria contamination at an American apple supplier killed several consumersof caramel apples in that country and negatively impacted the entire caramel apple industry. Fresh produce cannot be heated,dried or cured, and the commonly used methods of washing and chlorine-based treatments are not sufficiently effective. MoyerApple products is a leading North American producer of caramel apples based in Beamsville, Ontario, that has developedindustry-leading disinfection methods using ultraviolet light, atomized hydrogen peroxide and gaseous ozone. Prior work at theUniversity of Guelph by Keith Warriner has proven gaseous ozone to be an effective, safe and practical decontaminant. Moyershas implemented and proven an ozone-based system that bulk decontaminates apples in bulk shipping bins. There is arecognized need in the fresh produce industry for this technology and Moyers intends to develop a new business providing ozonedisinfection systems. Commercializing an ozone bulk treatment system requires further optimization of the design used at Moyers,which requires detailed understanding of flow, ozone distribution and pressures within the system, and the development ofengineering design models that can predict these characteristics. This project will conduct the experiments and modeldevelopment needed to support system optimization, which will then be utilized by Moyer to commercialize an ozone treatmentsystem, create jobs in Ontario and improve food safety throughout North America.