Page 1 - doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2007.08.012

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Food Control 19 (2008) 329–345
www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont
Review

Application of electrolyzed water in the food industry

b
a
c
Yu-Ru Huang , Yen-Con Hung , Shun-Yao Hsu , Yao-Wen Huang d,e ,
Deng-Fwu Hwang d, *
a
Department of Food Science, National Penghu University, Penghu, Taiwan, ROC
b
Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223-1797, USA
c
Graduate Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, P.O. Box 23-14, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC
d
Department of Food Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan, ROC
e
Department of Food Science and Technology, Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7610, USA
Received 12 February 2007; received in revised form 6 August 2007; accepted 10 August 2007

Abstract

Electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water has been regarded as a new sanitizer in recent years. Production of EO water needs only water and
salt (sodium chloride). EO water have the following advantages over other traditional cleaning agents: effective disinfection, easy oper-
ation, relatively inexpensive, and environmentally friendly. The main advantage of EO water is its safety. EO water which is also a strong
acid, is different to hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid in that it is not corrosive to skin, mucous membrane, or organic material. Electro-
lyzed water has been tested and used as a disinfectant in the food industry and other applications. Combination of EO water and other
measures are also possible. This review includes a brief overview of issues related to the electrolyzed water and its effective cleaning of
food surfaces in food processing plants and the cleaning of animal products and fresh produce.
Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Electrolyzed water; Disinfectant; Food industry

Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
2. Principles and characteristics of electrolyzed water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
3. Systems for generation of electrolyzed water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
4. The advantages and disadvantages of EO water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
5. Inactivation of microbes using EO water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
6. Inactivation of blood-virus using EO water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
7. Inactivation of toxins using EO water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
8. EO water used as a disinfectant in the food industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
8.1. Use of EO water for food processing equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
8.2. Use of EO water for vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
8.3. Use of EO water for fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
8.4. Use of EO water for poultry and meat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
8.5. Use of EO water for seafood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 2 24622192x5103; fax: +886 2 24626602.
E-mail address: dfhwang@mail.ntou.edu.tw (D.-F. Hwang).
0956-7135/$ - see front matter Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2007.08.012