Antimicrobial action and effects on beef quality attributes of a gaseous ozone treatment at refrigeration temperatures

For beef samples treated with the same gaseous ozone concentration, the highest microbial inhibition was observed at 0 °C and after 24-h exposure, producing a decrease of 0.7 and 2.0 log10 cycles in E. coli and total aerobic mesophilic heterotrophic microorganism counts respectively; however, both the surface color and lipid oxidation of these beef samples were unacceptable. Shorter exposure times (3 h) to the tested ozone concentration at both temperatures (0-4 °C), reduced 0.5 log10 cycles the counts of total aerobic mesophilic heterotrophic microorganisms and 0.6-1.0 log10 cycles the counts of E. coli, without changing the color or producing rancidity in beef.