As consumers become increasingly aware and knowledgeable about environmental issues, a small company in rural Ontario has adopted and enhanced a unique cleaning process for the dairy industry. It sanitizes stainless steel in a way that is of benefit to the environment and uses absolutely no chemicals.

In the past 18 months, Terry Kemp, President of Noblewood Transport located in Burgessville, Ontario, and Harold Krause of Krause Ozotech, have combined their efforts to introduce this technology - ozonated water - to the dairy industry, specifically through Noblewood and its fleet of stainless steel tankers.

Ozonated water is a relatively recent development for cleaning and sanitizing, having been used for cleaning hog barns, egg processing plants and other food processing facilities. But the move to the dairy industry is new, and Kemp and Krause are attending to every detail, ensuring safety and efficacy, right from the start.

Ozone a good thing
To some people the word ozone can have a negative connotation, from the low level ozone that’s associated with smog advisories to reported thinning of the ozone layer in the Earth’s atmosphere. But Krause explains this form of ozone is different, as is its impact.

“Ozone is a gas; it’s O3, and it’s derived from air, where the oxygen is separated from the nitrogen, leaving the oxygen pure,” he says. The oxygen is then exposed to 10 - 14,000 volts of electricity in a confined environment. Under those conditions, the O2 oxygen separates into single atoms, then reunites as O3 oxygen or ozone. “And ozone likes to break down organic matter, such as bacteria, viruses, milk solids and calcium layers.”

By reacting with the organic matter, the O3 oxygen reverts back to O2 and loses its volatility; Krause notes ozone dissipates in about 30 minutes. But the sanitizing effect is only part of the good news story of the ozonated water process; it requires only cold water, so there’s no thermal energy needed, no chemicals, no residues, it takes half the time, uses half the water of conventional means, and the water that’s left is recyclable.

“We’re injecting ozone into a large tank of water, dissolving the O3, and when that water comes in contact with a contaminated tank, it breaks down the contamination,” says Krause, adding butter fat and milk stone, deposits of calcium sediment – to the list of contaminants that ozonated water controls. “We’re ending up with a sparkling clean tank.”

There are no chemicals - no chlorinated cleaners – or hot water rinses, and there’s no risk of residues which can lead to complaints about unpleasant after-tastes in milk. From a food safety perspective, bacterial counts were also reduced greatly, according to independent lab results.

“And we want to make sure it’s in a safe environment, so that anybody using the application doesn’t have any potential harmful effects,” adds Kemp.

Like anything, there are learning curves
Krause and Kemp are still learning to adapt the technology to their operation; their pilot project cleaned only one truck at a time but the system they have now can clean all six trucks at once.

In addition to streamlining the process, the two concede they’ve had interest from other groups and organizations, some of which have taken leadership and funding roles. The Agricultural Adaptation Council, located in Guelph, Ontario, approved funding to a maximum of $65,000, a show of support which Kemp credits for attracting the attention of other like-minded organizations, including the Dairy Farmers of Ontario and more recently, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

“It was very important that we got the Agricultural Adaptation Council on board,” he says, noting his was a small business requiring a lot of time and effort to begin the project. “We explained what our process was, the AAC was very excited about it, and they came to the table and gave us support, otherwise, it probably would have been too costly and it would have never been developed.”

Making a good thing better
Bob Bedggood, chair of the Agricultural Adaptation Council, accepts Kemp’s praise but says it’s the vision of individuals like Krause and Kemp that help keep agriculture at the fore of the latest trends and technologies.

“Taking this existing technology and making it work even better, and in another sector of the agri-food industry is the kind of ingenuity we’re going to continue to see and need,” says Bedggood. “This goes beyond farming, beyond processing, and has a direct impact on the consumer, and that’s where agriculture is going to make its greatest strides in the next decade.”

The Agricultural Adaptation Council is a non-profit, grass roots coalition of 62 agricultural, agribusiness and rural organizations dedicated to providing financial resources to assist Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food industry remain profitable, grow and maintain its economic strength. The AAC receives the majority of its funding through Ontario’s share of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s five year $240 million Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) program.

For information on the AAC please contact the AAC at (519) 822-7554, or visit the website at www.adaptcouncil.org.

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Nadine Buitenhuis,
Communications Coordinator
Agricultural Adaptation Council
Phone: 519-822-7554
Fax: 519-822-6248
E-mail: nbuitenhuis@adaptcouncil.org
Website: www.adaptcouncil.org