MURRAY HILL, NJ, Nov. 3, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- InterventTM, the new food safety technology and consulting arm of BOC Group, is using its proprietary ozone (O3) technology to help Robert J. Preble & Sons of Kennebunkport, Maine, improve the safety and extend the shelf life of its processed fish products.
Intervent offers proven ozone and ultraviolet light technologies specifically designed for use in food and beverage plants, and also provides Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and food science consulting services.
Preble takes whole fresh fish and shellfish directly off the boats, processes, packages, and markets them to restaurants and major national food retailers. To improve sanitation and increase the shelf life of Preble's products, Intervent installed an ozone-based surface decontamination system.
Preble uses the ozone to wash down the entire plant and also disperses it through a custom-engineered spray system for continuous sanitation on selected process systems such as cutting, skinning, packaging and rinsing operations.
Vinnie Clough, chief operating officer at the seafood processor, said, "Preble & Sons has a reputation for high-quality, fresh seafood. BOC's ozone technology will help us achieve an even higher level of food safety while increasing the shelf life of our seafood products."
Mark DiMaggio, BOC business manager for food safety markets, said, "Intervent has drawn upon BOC's 40-plus years of experience in the seafood industry to design a reliable ozone sanitation system that is easy-to-install and operate and which integrates seamlessly with Preble's food processing operations and allows them to incorporate a validated anti-microbial process into their HACCP plan."
DiMaggio further stated that Intervent is the only company with the ability to custom engineer the proper application of ozonated water to a customer's specific equipment to the greatest efficacy. "As an added bonus, the system pays for itself several times over in extended product shelf life," he said.
Intervent is a wholly owned BOC business that offers processors a range of validated ozone and ultra-violet light technologies that are integrated seamlessly into a plant's total environment to treat food, food contact surfaces, atmospheres and processing fluids for protection against pathogens and spoilage organisms. Intervent also offers consultative HACCP process authority services to facilitate processors' compliance with USDA regulations by evaluating their plants' risk factors, incorporating technologies to lower that risk and assisting with USDA and FDA acknowledgement of their HACCP and GMP plans.
Food processors look to BOC for its knowledge, skill and experience in delivering reliable engineered solutions to address their atmosphere, microbe and temperature control requirements. BOC provides a range of offerings that help customers consistently deliver the highest quality food to their customers, including ozone and UV light anti-microbial systems, chilling and freezing technologies, modified atmosphere packaging, state-of-the-art food monitoring and control technologies, and water management services.
The BOC Group (www.boc.com), the worldwide industrial gases, vacuum technologies and distribution services company, serves two million customers in more than 50 countries. It employs 44,500 people and had annual sales of over $7 billion in 2003.
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