*3.1. O3, UV-C, and Citric Acid*

Ozone and acid treatment, when implemented individually, can reduce AFB1 and AFG1 more than AFB2 and AFG2. In contrast to O3 and acid treatment, UV-C by itself has great efficiency in the degradation of AFB2 and AFG2. This difference made the combination of the three treatments a great opportunity to increase the degradation rates of aflatoxins in contaminated pistachio samples. The subsequent treatments of the contaminated pistachio with 3N citric acid, followed by O3 exposure for half an hour, and UV-C irradiation for 36 h, achieved high reduction rates of more than 90% for AFB1 and AFB2 and more than 99% for AFG1 and AFG2. This combination did not cause significant changes in the organoleptic and nutritional quality of the pistachio compared to non-treated pistachio samples [123].
