<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Herbs can be contaminated with microorganisms, which affects their quality while increasing the risk of food poisoning. Thus, there is a need for efficient decontamination techniques. In this study, the microbial load was reduced in peppermint herb (<italic>Mentha piperita</italic> L.) exposed to ozone at 10 ppm for 60 minutes. The quality of the ozonated herb was assessed by the determination of microbial load and essential oils content. Total microbial content was reduced by 4 log cfu g−1 of the microorganisms whereas the contamination with molds was reduced from 10.07 log cfu g−1 of the microorganisms to zero. Moreover, sensory evaluation of the herb aroma was conducted. These characteristics were not significantly affected by the treatment. Therefore, ozone can be used to improve the peppermint herb quality by reduction of the microbial contamination of peppermint herb while having no adverse effect on the herb aroma.</abstract>

Herbs can be contaminated with microorganisms, which affects their quality while increasing the risk of food poisoning. Thus, there is a need for efficient decontamination techniques. In this study, the microbial load was reduced in peppermint herb (Mentha piperita L.) exposed to ozone at 10 ppm for 60 minutes. The quality of the ozonated herb was assessed by the determination of microbial load and essential oils content. Total microbial content was reduced by 4 log cfu g−1 of the microorganisms whereas the contamination with molds was reduced from 10.07 log cfu g−1 of the microorganisms to zero. Moreover, sensory evaluation of the herb aroma was conducted. These characteristics were not significantly affected by the treatment. Therefore, ozone can be used to improve the peppermint herb quality by reduction of the microbial contamination of peppermint herb while having no adverse effect on the herb aroma.

Utilization of Ozone for the Improvement of <italic>Mentha piperita</italic> L. Quality by Reduction of Microbial Load and Impact of the Process on the Herb Properties

Department of Computer Science in Management, Faculty of Management

Departament of Chemistry and Food Toxicology

Acta Universitatis Cibiniensis. Series E: Food Technology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Utilization of Ozone for the Improvement of  L. Quality by Reduction of Microbial Load and Impact of the Process on the Herb Properties

Herbs can be contaminated with microorganisms, which affects their quality while increasing the risk of food poisoning. Thus, there is a need for efficient...

Utilization of Ozone for the Improvement of Mentha piperita L. Quality by Reduction of Microbial Load and Impact of the Process on the Herb Properties

Published Online: Dec 24, 2020

Page range: 156 - 164

Received: May 10, 2020

Accepted: Aug 20, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aucft-2020-0014

Keywords
quality management, ozone, herbs, essential oil content, microbial load

© 2020 Piotr Antos et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Utilization of Ozone for the Improvement of Mentha piperita L. Quality by Reduction of Microbial Load and Impact of the Process on the Herb Properties

Published Online: Dec 24, 2020

Page range: 156 - 164

Received: May 10, 2020

Accepted: Aug 20, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aucft-2020-0014

Keywordsquality management, ozone, herbs, essential oil content, microbial load

© 2020 Piotr Antos et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
quality management, ozone, herbs, essential oil content, microbial load