Abstract: In the present study, the changing patterns of water content, total bacterial count and mould count during simulated storage of ozone-treated paddy at different temperatures were explored. The counts of microorganisms in paddy could significantly be decreased by ozone treatment. The water content of ozone-treated paddy revealed a slight increase in the first 40 days of storage followed by a general downtrend and declined more obviously at higher storage temperature. Total bacterial count and mould count of ozone-treated paddy basically remained stable during storage at 15 or 20 ℃, but fell more at 25, 30 or 35 ℃ than before storage. Furthermore, at the beginning of storage, both microbiological indicators showed a rebound. Analysis of variance demonstrated that both storage temperature and time had a very significant effect on changes in total bacterial count and mould count, and further statistical analysis using SPSS suggested the linear relationships for total bacteria count or total mold count as a function of storage temperature and time.

Key words: ozone treatment, paddy, storage, total bacterial count, mould count, change