The Effectiveness of Aqueous Ozone on Residual Chlorination by Products in Treated Chicken Meat

Abstract

Abstract There are a lot of dangerous and toxic microbes that may easily infect poultry. Because of the potential for contamination during processing, sterilization is an essential step in ensuring the safety of poultry meat products for consumers. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of aqueous ozone treatment at 0.5 ppm for twenty-five minutes in reducing residual chlorine byproducts in chicken meat obtained from different regions of Al-Suwaria city in Wasit Province. We scoured various marketplaces in Al Suwaria city for ten samples of frozen chicken portions. Using the gas chromatography technique, the concentrations of chlorine byproducts were calculated. The ozone producer (A2Z/AQUA-6, USA) and the CHE-Mets®-Kit, USA, were used to quantify the concentration of ozone in water as parts per million (ppm). All samples tested positive for residues of chlorine byproducts (chloroform and bromodichloromethane) prior to treatment, according to the gas chromatography data. However, the ozone treatment caused a highly significant (P≤0.01) drop in both chloroform and bromodichloromethane in the samples that were treated as (P = 0.0001 and 0.0056), respectively. Based on the results, it is clear that the current concentration of ozone, when applied for the specified duration, effectively lowers the chlorination byproduct levels (ppb) in the rinsed meat. The public health implications of this decrease in chlorination byproduct, which are carcinogenic, are substantial. Based on these results, ozone treatment might provide a non-toxic alternative to current methods of sanitizing meat and meat products at slaughterhouses and in restaurants.