STOLT SEA FARM NA SELECTS INTERVENT OZONE TECHNOLOGY AS CORNERSTONE OF ITS PATHOGEN CONTROL PROGRAM
16 September 2006 - BOC Gases

Intervent focuses on a key area of concern to food and beverage processors, food safety, and offers processors a range of validated technologies to treat food, food contact surfaces, processing fluids, and plant atmospheres for protection against pathogens and spoilage organisms. Intervent also facilitates processors’ compliance with USDA regulations by evaluating a plant’s risk factors, incorporating technologies to lower that risk and assisting with USDA acknowledgement of their HACCP and GMP plans.

Mark DiMaggio, BOC business manager, food safety markets, says the ozone technology is being used in Stolt’s Los Angeles, California and Stratford, Connecticut plants. The Los Angeles plant processes whole salmon and sturgeon, while the Stratford plant processes whole sturgeon and salmon fillets. Both plants receive their stock from Canada, and process the fish completely, from skinning through to packaging.

Both plants have successfully implemented Intervent ozone technology as a core component of their pathogen reduction strategies. The technology is a skidded, self-contained system that takes and purifies ambient air, then generates ozone and diffuses it into pretreated water. The ozone-laden water is used on food preparation surfaces and directly on the fish itself to reduce pathogens, enhance product freshness, and extend shelf life.

Jack King, vice president, SSF North America says, “Our validation tests with ozone confirmed that, in addition to reducing pathogens, ozone had a significant, positive impact on product quality and shelf life. The Los Angeles and Stratford plants are just the beginning of our relationship with Intervent. Ultimately, we intend to use their ozone technology in all of our processing plants, and perhaps even in our farms and on our boats.”

DiMaggio says Intervent ozone technology is a low-cost solution to pathogen reduction. “It’s easy to install, and we provide engineering design, system installation support, system commissioning and validation.”

“The seafood industry has embraced ozone technology more than any other segment of the food industry,” DiMaggio adds. “Seafood processors have been quick to recognize the tremendous value-added benefit that ozone delivers in terms of extended product shelf life.”

In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration approved ozone for use directly on food and food preparation surfaces. Since then, ozone-based technology has grown in popularity with food processors as an efficient, cost-effective means to control food-borne pathogens and extend product shelf life.

The Stolt Sea Farm group is a Norwegian-based, international aquaculture company with production and sales locations throughout the world. SSF is a fully integrated, worldwide, species-diverse supplier of high quality seafood. The company markets a premium quality line of seafood products under the Sterling trademark.

Food and beverage processors look to BOC for its experience and expertise in delivering the engineered solutions they need. BOC helps customers address their atmosphere, microbe and temperature control requirements so they can deliver the highest quality food and beverages to their customers. BOC provides a range of offerings, such as ozone and UV light anti-microbial systems, cryogenic gases including carbon dioxide and nitrogen for seafood chilling and freezing, oxygen for acquaculture, modified atmosphere packaging, and state-of-the-art food and beverage monitoring and control technologies.

http://www.boc.com

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