Resolution Concerning the Use of Ozone in Food Processing

This resolution is found the original EPRI Direct Food Additive Petition that was used to petition the FDA and USDA to gain GRAS approval for ozone use in food processing applications.

The Use of Ozone as an effective sanitizer and disinfectant worldwide beginning in France in 1902 and has been documented in an Expert Panel Report entitled “Evaluation of the History and Safety of Ozone in Processing Food for Human Consumption”. This Declaration of GRAS Status for Use of Ozone in Food Processing was presented to FDA on April 10, 1997 and published thereafter in the scientific literature and the trade press.

Numerous ozone applications have been installed throughout the food industry in the United States during the past two years. The benefits to public food safety are major, especially related to the food hazards identified in the President’s Food Safety Initiative. These include newer pathogens such as E. coli 0157:H7, Listeria, and resistant cyst formers such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia, all of which are inactivated effectively by ozonation.

We urge the responsible Federal Agencies, particularly USDA-FSIS and FDA-CSAN to proactively support the adoption of ozonation for application broadly in food and agriculture as described in the Expert Panel Report Declaration of GRAS Status for ozone on April 10, 1997 and in this Petition.

Resolution Signers