Ozone machine decomposes hormones in meat to be determined

Exaggeration of advertising effectiveness

A certain ozone machine promotion slogan on the Internet, merchants slogan "multifunctional ozone machine, can remove pesticide residue from fruits and vegetables and decompose hormone antibiotics in meat."

"Ozone and oxygen only have one more oxygen atom, and it is precisely this oxygen atom that makes ozone have special capabilities." Associate Professor Wang Shuguang of the School of Chemical Engineering of Beijing University of Chemical Technology believes that the redox potential of ozone in water is 2.07V, only Subsequent to fluorine (2.5V), higher than the chlorine (1.36V) commonly used for tap water purification. “Because ozone has strong oxidizing properties, it has been increasingly applied to the field of disinfection and sterilization in recent years. Even the treatment of organic pollutants such as waste water and drinking water is linked to ozone, and it is also known as ozone deep oxidation technology.”

However, Wang Shuguang does not agree with the role of ozone in removing hormones. He believes that ozone may have a certain effect on the degradation of antibiotics and hormones in meat, but the effect should be very small. "Because of the infiltration capacity of ozone, there is no room for discussion."

"Although ozone has a strong oxidizing ability, it can break some chemical bonds, but the prerequisite is that it must have opportunities for contact with the compound. The ability of ozone to penetrate solids is weak, and antibiotics and hormones are distributed in the meat. Whether it can be effectively contacted is debatable." . Wang Shuguang said that for substances such as meat, if the penetration of ozone does not penetrate or the penetration is shallow, it will not play a significant role.

The scientific web site's "shell web" view also believes that the use of ozone to rupture cells in theory can indeed remove these hormones from meat, but do not forget that a piece of meat may have several thousand layers of cells. Ozone can only destroy several layers of cells on the surface of meat. Some hormones are attached to the cell surface, and some go deep inside the cell, so that those hormones inside the cell are difficult to remove.

Ozone is not a universal oxidant

“Ozone is a strong oxidant that can produce free radicals, destroy the cell walls and cell membranes that decompose bacteria, oxidize and decompose some enzymes inside the bacteria, such as the glucose oxidase that is necessary for oxidizing glucose, and can also directly destroy the RNA, DNA, and protein of bacteria and viruses. Lipids and polysaccharides and other macromolecule polymers have destroyed their metabolism and reproduction processes." Wang Shuguang said that ozone is also easily reacted with double-stranded olefinic compounds to form monomeric, polymeric, or staggered ozone. The mixture of compounds, the latter decomposed into aldehydes and acids, ozone can also react with aromatic compounds, such as naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluorene and other organic matter.

"However, the problem persists. Although ozone is a strong oxidant, it is not a universal oxidizer. The extent to which ozone can degrade these compounds in the face of a wide range of antibiotics and hormones is also debatable." Wang Shuguang believes that such as ozone and saturated organic matter. And organics other than phenolic hydroxyls react very slowly. "Ozone oxidation process is affected by many factors, such as the concentration of oxidants, temperature, inorganic carbon, organic carbon and other existing substances, all affect the reaction of ozone oxidation to remove organic matter."

For the company’s behavior and propaganda slogans, Wang Shuguang said: “It is not realistic to want to remove the antibiotics and hormones in meat through ozone. I think it is a gimmick for business hype. In addition, from the current publicly reported value of ozone, many Academic monographs rarely include this aspect."

Professor Lin Jinming from the Department of Chemistry at Tsinghua University also said: “The bactericidal effects of ozone are certainly available. However, the current scientific basis for the removal of hormones in meat is not sufficient, and in principle, it is difficult to achieve.”

Ozone machine precautions

Ozone machines have become more and more widely used due to their sterilizing and disinfecting effects, such as water purification for ornamental fish farming, cleaning of vegetables and fruits, disinfection of tableware, and purification of industrial sewage and air. However, there are some risks to be aware of while using it.

The "shell shell network" message said: A study by the Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that while sterilizing, ozone will cause the nitrite content in the water to exceed the standard. Since nitrites are highly toxic, they are also likely to produce carcinogens after cooking at high temperatures. Therefore, nitrite food processing methods should be avoided. As for how to avoid the production of nitrite, there is no scientific conclusion so far, and the general solution is to reduce the use of ozone.

In addition, because ozone destroys cells to achieve the purpose of sterilization, some consumers worry that the nutrients in fruits and vegetables that have undergone ozone cleaning will be lost, or they will produce harmful by-products. Wang Shuguang said: "When used in the disinfection of vegetables and fruits, the general time is very short, coupled with its weak penetration, generally less consider the impact of this. In addition, ozone application process, there are recommended safe concentrations Therefore, the normal side effects on fruits and vegetables should be small."

"When using an ozone generator, it is necessary to pay attention to the time. When selecting an ozone generator, be sure to look at the ozone concentration. If it exceeds the concentration, it must not be bought." According to the ozone standard issued by the World Health Organization in 2005, the average is 8 hours. The concentration is not higher than 100 micrograms per cubic meter.