Effect of ozone on the rheological properties and microbial population of wheat flour

Ozone is triple form of oxygen which in addition to antimicrobial and disinfectant nature has several properties and applications in the food industry such as improvement of flour quality because of the chlorination replacement. In this study¡ the effect of ozonation on the microbial population of flour and rheological properties of dough (water absorption¡ dough development time¡ stability¡ mixing tolerance index¡ valorimeter index¡ resistance to extension and extensibility) were investigated in 2×4 factorial experiment with two levels of the flour type (strong and weak) and four levels of ozonation period (0¡ 15¡ 30 and 45 minutes) in Completely Randomized experimental Design (CRD) with replications. Results showed that ozone as an oxidizing agent had not significant effect (p