Helmut Leili, a veteran agronomist and CEO of Cardinal Fresh, has proposed using Ozone treatments to kill pathogens and bacteria in fresh produce. According to Leili, the same principal that is applied as an antibacterial treatment in other capacities can be safely used for fresh produce.

A team of Zimbabwean researchers has discovered an “ozone hole” over South Africa that is centred over the Free State Province during spring, which impacts on temperature and rainfall levels, according to findings published in the Journal of Frontiers in Earth Science.

The use of chlorine and peracetic acid to sterilise fruit is increasingly being replaced by ozone to remove bacteria, mould and fungi without leaving a residue. ArcAqua, a Cape Town-based company, has patented technology that allows ozone to be entrained within a shroud of water droplets ‒ directing the ozone to the exact point of sanitisation.