Efficacy of ozone against Ephestia kuehniella (Lep.: Pyralidae) and on the quality of raisin

Ozone is a powerful oxidant potent agent for killing insects and microorganisms. In this study, ozone gas was used to evaluate the effect of ozone on the mill moth Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lep.: Pyralidae) in raisins. The samples of infested raisin (50gr each) with fifth-instar larvae of E. kuehniella were exposed to ozone at three concentrations (2, 3 and 5 ppm) in five different periods (15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 min).The mortality of the larvae was proportional to the exposure time. 100% mortality was observed at 5 ppm of ozone concentration within 90 minutes. There was no adverse effects on raisins in terms of changes of quality, organoleptic properties or color factors, fragility and stiffness during the ozone treatments. But ozone had negative impact on the aroma of raisins.