Potential of Ozonated Mist for Microbiological Disinfection and Preservation of the Physicochemical Quality of Strawberries

This work aimed to investigate the potential of ozonated mist for microbiological disinfection and preservation of the physicochemical quality of strawberries. The experiments followed a completely randomized design with three replications. The assays consisted of six treatments: four with ozonated mist, one with ozone water, and one control group. In the mist treatments, ozone was input at 20 and 40 mg L−1 for exposures of 5 and 10 min. The ozone-water treatments used a concentration of 3.32 mg L−1, and the fruits were immersed for 5 min. The control corresponded to untreated fruits. The quality parameters appraised were mass-loss percentage, firmness, soluble solids content, pH, total titratable acidity, and color. The strawberries were stored in a refrigerated environment at 5 °C and 87% relative humidity. Ozonated mist proved more effective than ozone water in preserving the external appearance of strawberries and prolonging their shelf life, remarkably at 20 mg L−1. The effectiveness of ozonated mist in decreasing the aerobic mesophilic count surpassed that of ozone water, regardless of the concentration and exposure duration. Ozonated mist at 20 mg L−1 for 5 min proved to be the most efficient treatment to reduce the count of filamentous fungi and yeasts.