A restaurateur has gone to great lengths to tackle the spread of the H1N1 virus in his eatery, including taking staff’s temperatures before they start work and preventing them from touching plates directly.

Silk and Soya, a Thai-themed restaurant in Madrid, Spain, implemented the measures to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, in the upscale locale.

“We implemented these measures so that our employees would serve only food, not a virus,” restaurant owner Cipri Quintas told CNN.

As well as employees having their temperatures taken before starting their shifts, windows are opened to aerate the restaurant before meals. Each table is set at least one meter — 3.2 feet — from any other table.

Any member of the kitchen staff involved in food preparation must wear a mask and gloves, and waiters are required to hold napkins when carrying plates to avoid touching them directly with their hands.

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Ozone is only one of many food sanitizing ingredients and processes being used, examined, or proposed to improve food safety. Steam pasteurization, flash pasteurization, and ultraviolet radiation are additional methods that can sanitize food. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, and research continues on which methods or combinations of sanitizing processes work best for specific foods.

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With food safety as a growing business imperative, an increasing number of food processors, restaurants and supermarkets are turning to ozonated water systems for improving disinfection. Researchers have verified that ozonated water can replace traditional sanitizing agents like chlorine and detergents (if grease must be removed, ozone cannot replace detergents) and reduce the incidence of food-borne illness due to food pathogens. And the use of ozonated water can drive profitability by increasing the freshness and shelf-life of produce, meats, fish and poultry, while reducing the need for and cost of chemical cleaning agents and hot water (energy).

Most effective disinfectant limits risk

Chlorine is commonly used in food processing to control pathogens, yet there are limitations in its ability to provide a consistently safe food supply. As well, environmental and health organizations are concerned about whether the food industry is dealing with toxicity issues related to chlorine, including the formation of carcinogenic by-products and chemical residues left on food and returned to the environment in wastewater.

The disinfectant potential for ozone is evidenced by its use by water treatment facilities in the U.S. and Europe. Ozone has proven itself to deliver far greater lethality rates for microorganisms versus chlorine or other chemical sanitizing agents.  And there is no negative ecological impact.

In processing plants, restaurants and supermarkets, ozone water disinfection systems typically install between the water supply and faucets and sprayers, delivering ozonated water for rinsing product and for cleaning processing and preparation areas. Ozonated water guards against a range of contaminants, including salmonella, listeria and E. coli, that threaten food safety. Ozone kills bacteria on contact — at levels 3100 times faster than chlorine — and it is the most potent bactericide known. Scientists from Michigan State University confirmed that ozone was extremely effective in ridding water of hazardous pathogens, including chlorine-resistant Cryptosporidium.

Ozonated water also produces no harmful residue since ozone decomposes back to regular water in about 20 minutes. The FDA and the USDA have approved the use of ozonated water on food products, and ozone is even permitted for use on organic products with no mention in labeling. Gaseous ozone is even listed as a disinfectant for water-sensitive produce, such as strawberries and raspberries, in the Guide to Minimizing Microbial Food Safety Hazards For Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, a document put together by the FDA and USDA. Ozonated water has proven so effective, that bottled water mega-supplier, Aquafina, uses an ozone solution to disinfect their bottled water.

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Food Industry: Ozone can be bubbled through water into which it will partially dissolve. This ozonated water then can be used for washing foods, particularly produce and poultry, to reduce microbial loads. Controlled studies report that ozonated water may actually provide greater than 90% reduction of total bacterial counts for some vegetables. Such treatments have also been shown to reduce fungal decay. Besides reducing microbial loads in wash water, ozone can extend the shelf life of produce in storage. However, this application is not permitted in Canada (see Canadian Regulations). For storage applications, the ozone is emitted periodically into the storage area. As with many oxidizing agents, exposure to high enough concentrations of ozone is harmful to humans. Ozonated storage areas should be enclosed and the ozone allowed to dissipate prior to workers entering the area.

During the ozonation process, ozone is readily consumed. Thus, wash water must be ozonated continually. Typically poultry and produce processing use a great deal of water. Thus, ozone can be used for treating recirculated water in poultry and produce processing industries. Ozonating this water allows it to be reused, thus providing cost savings.

Ozone is also permitted for use in Canada as a food additive at a maximum level of use consistent with good manufacturing practice. Ozone is used as a maturing agent (speeds up the aging process) in cider and wine and as a chemosterilant (controls pest populations) in water represented as mineral or spring water.

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