Ozone is a powerful antimicrobial agent that is suitable for application in food in the gaseous and aqueous states. Molecular ozone or its decomposition products (for example, hydroxyl radical) inactivate microorganisms rapidly by reacting with intracellular enzymes, nucleic material and components of their cell envelope, spore coats, or viral capsids. Combination of ozone with appropriate initiators (for example, UV or H 2 O 2 ) results in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) that are potentially effective against the most resistant microorganisms; however, applications of AOPs in food are yet to be developed. When applied to food, ozone is generated on-site and it decomposes quickly, leaving no residues. Ozone is suitable for decontaminating produce, equipment, foodcontact surfaces, and processing environment.

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The rotavirus causes a food-transmitted gastroenteritis that affects mainly children. Currently, the food industry is interested in alternative food-processing technologies, but research on the control of food-transmitted viruses by these technologies is limited. In this study, the human rotavirus was cultured on MA104 cells, and suspensions of the virus were prepared and treated with ozone, high pressure, and pulsed electric field (PEF). Virus viability was quantified as 50% tissue culture infectious doses (TCID50) per milliliter. Ozone at 25 microg/ml decreased rotavirus infectivity by 8 to 9 log10 TCID50/ml. High pressure was extremely effective against the rotavirus; treatment with 300 MPa for 2 min at 25 degrees C inactivated approximately 8 log10 TCID50/ml. A small fraction of the virus population, however, remained resistant to pressure treatments of up to 800 MPa for 10 min. Viruses surviving these extreme pressures showed a cytopathic effect different from that of the untreated viruses. The rotavirus was found to be resistant to PEF treatment at 20 to 29 kV/cm, for which no appreciable reductions in virus titer were observed.