UTAH FIRM PROMOTES OZONE SYSTE ... 10/08/97
Salt Lake Tribune
Types: Business
Published: 10/08/97
Page: D5
Keywords: UT, Businesses, Food, Consumer Affairs, Public Safety
Caption: Lynn R. Johnson/The Salt Lake Tribune
Cyclopss Corp. senior researcher Atul Bhadkamkar disinfects produce
using Cyclopss' ozone-cleansing process, which was recognized as safe by
the FDA this summer.
Utah Firm Promotes Ozone System As Future of Food Disinfection; Cyclopss
Corp. Develops Ozone Cleansing System
Byline: BY LISA CARRICABURU THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
E. coli, salmonella and other contaminants that lurk in food may find
their worst enemy in technology an 8-year-old Utah firm originally
developed to sterilize medical instruments and sanitize laundry.
Cyclopss Corp. of Salt Lake City is leading a nationwide effort to
educate food processors and consumers about how ozone can be used as a
safer, more effective food cleanser than chlorine or other commonly used
alternatives.
The effort follows a ''generally recognized as safe'' designation the
ozone-cleansing process received in July after a six-member panel made
up of food scientists, microbiologists, nutritionists and other experts
researched it.
The Food and Drug Administration allowed the designation to stand after
seeing no proof that the process is unsafe, said David Ash, a food
scientist and technical consultant for the Walnut Creek, Calif.-based
Electric Power Research Institute, which sponsored the panel.
The FDA's affirmation clears the way for companies sucha as Cyclopss to
market their technology to the $430 billion food-processing industry.
''In dealing with food-safety issues, people keep calling for tighter
regulation when in fact what is needed is better processing,'' Cyclopss
President William Stoddard said. ''This is the first time a truly good
alternative is being offered.''
He said ozone's strength as a powerful disinfectant has been recognized
for decades. It already is used to sanitize virtually all bottled water.
Ozone also is used for disinfection by nearly 200 municipal
drinking-water plants in the United States.
In addition, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom,
Scandinavia, Israel and Japan long have used it to cleanse food,
establishing precedents from which U.S. companies can learn, Stoddard
said.
The reason for its effectiveness are explained by ozone's properties.
Ozone is a form of oxygen made up of three atoms per molecule instead of
the two that oxygen has. It is formed naturally when oxygen in the
atmosphere is subjected to lightning or exposed to intense ultraviolet
light. Ozone-generation technology that Cyclopss originally developed
for medical and industrial applications replicates that process,
Stoddard said.
The benefit comes in the fact that ozone is a highly unstable molecule
that constantly is trying to revert back to the more stable state of
oxygen. The oxidation that occurs in this process is extremely fatal to
bacteria, viruses, mold, fungi, algae and other microorganisms.
For example, ozone kills harmful E. coli bacteria 3,123 times faster
than chlorine. Fear of E. coli contamination this summer prompted Hudson
Foods Inc. to recall 5 million pounds of processed beef in the nation's
largest food recall.
And there are other benefits as well.
Because it quickly reverts to oxygen, ozone, unlike chlorine, leaves no
byproducts in food or in the water into which it is infused for cleaning
purposes.
''Ozone leaves no flavor or odor,'' Ash said. ''While you can tell if
you eat a strawberry that has been cleaned in chlorinated water, with
ozone, a strawberry tastes like a strawberry.''
In addition, because ozone quickly reverts back to oxygen, it is
manufactured and used in place and cannot be stored, Stoddard said. That
eliminates hazards associated with transporting and storing chlorine and
other disinfectants.
Because the FDA affirmation only took effect July 10, Stoddard and Ash
said U.S. food processors still are learning about ozone's potential.
But Cyclopss is convinced of its promise. It is moving forward
aggressively.
On Tuesday, it announced it has signed a letter of intent with Wilson,
N.Y.-based Schlyer Equipment Co. to develop and manufacture a system
specifically for food processors.
Stoddard said the system will be similar to a sophisticated car wash. It
will spray ozonated water over, under and around at all points as a
conveyor system moves the food through.
Cyclopss already is working with some food-processing companies that are
exploring the use of its technology.
''We anticipate phenomenal growth,'' he said. |
