Ozone as a Solution for Eliminating the Risk of Anatoxins Detected in Some Meat Products

The current study was designed to assess the efficiency of ozone (O3) as a green technology in the detoxification of aflatoxins (AFs) in luncheon and kofta. Both products can deliver AFs to consumers where all samples revealed more than one of the major AF B1, B2, G1, and G2. Kofta contained a higher level (15.2 ppb) of total AFs compared to luncheon (4.8 ppb). By exposing samples to O3, the degree of detoxification was proportional to O3 concentration. At 20 ppm O3, the most detoxified AFs were AFB2 (67.1%) and AFG1 (68.3%) while the reduction in other AFs ranged from 11.6 - 55.2% and 44.7 - 61.4% for luncheon and kofta, respectively. By 40 ppm O3, the most detoxified AFs were AFG1 (100%) and AFB2 (91.7%) while the reduction in other AFs ranged from 54.6 - 85.7 % and 61.4 - 78.4%, respectively. By the two applied concentrations, O3 none significantly lowered the pH values of samples. Lipid stability was inversely proportional with O3 concentration as fat was more stable at 20 compared to 40 ppm O3, where kofta appeared higher stability compared to luncheon. Ozone appeared able to eliminate or significantly reduce AFs in raw and ready-to-eat meat products with negligible changes in physicochemical properties.