Uso de ozônio (O₃) como agente antimicrobiano em pescado : uma revisão sistemática e metanálise

Abstract

The application of new sanitizing technologies is necessary in the fish processing industry, due to the significant increase in the occurrence of fish contamination by pathogens, such as Salmonella spp. In addition to being a food extremely susceptible to microbial spoilage, which directly affects its quality, as well as related with public health. Therefore, maintaining the safety of fish meat is essential for the advancement of trade and development of the production chain, as it is one of the most traded products around in the world. Ozone has been indicated as an antimicrobial agent, recognized as safe for application in food. In addition, ozonation treatment does not generate waste and, because of that, it has been tested by several research groups for food sanitary control uses. However, conclusive evidence on the effect of ozone on foodborne pathogens remain unclear. This nuclear is due to the variability of ozone application forms and because of different physical-chemical and microbiological characteristics of fish and seafood species. Therefore, the need to investigate, through a systematic review and metaanalysis, the factors that allow a better analysis of the efficiency of the use of ozone as an antimicrobial agent in fisheries. The searches were carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Scielo electronic databases. Descriptors used were fish OR seafood OR aquaculture AND ozone. A total of 1,290 studies were identified, only nine met all the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. The general effect results of the meta-analysis indicated that ozone reduced 0.20 log CFU⁻¹ in the count of mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria in fish and seafood, a low-value for an environmentally bactericidal effect. Furthermore, in fish there is not enough evidence in the literature of its effectiveness as an antimicrobial agent. Subgroup analyzes allow us to state that there are methodological differences between the studies. The systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that ozone technology application on fish was not efficient in reducing the count of mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria. Due to few studies that met the eligibility criteria in the present systematic review and meta-analysis, there is a need for more studies that evaluate the sanitary effects of ozone on fish.