Food Irradiation

Food irradiation

is the process of exposing food to controlled levels of ionizing radiation to kill harmful bacteria, pests, or parasites, or to preserve its freshness.

cold pasteurization

food irradiation is also called as?

it kills harmful bacteria without heat.

Gamma rays

emitted from radioactive forms of the element cobalt (Cobalt 60) or of the element cesium (Cesium 137).

Gamma radiation

is used routinely to sterilize medical, dental, and household products and is also used for the radiation treatment of cancer.

X-rays

produced by reflecting a high-energy stream of electrons off a target substance (usually one of the heavy metals) into food.

are also widely used in medicine and industry to produce images of internal structures.

Electron beam

similar to X-rays and is a stream of high-energy electrons propelled from an electron accelerator into food.

Radiation dose

quantity of radiation energy absorbed by the food as it passes through the radiation field during processing.

gray (Gy)

the unit used to measure absorbed dose of radiation and is equal to one joule of energy absorbed per kg of matter being irradiated.

100 rad

1 Gy (Gray) =?

1000 Gy

1 Kilogray (kGy) =?

10 kGy

International health and safety authorities have endorsed the safety of irradiation for all foods up to a dose level of ?

The World Health Organization WHO

the American Dietetic Association

the Scientific Committee of the European Union

three internationally recognized bodies that support food irradiation.

0.03-0.15 kGy

Low dose up to 1 kGy

sprout inhibition in bulbs and tubers

0.25-0.75 kGy

Low dose up to 1 kGy

delay of fruit ripening

0.25-1 kGy

Low dose up to 1 kGy

insect disinfection including quarantine treatment and elimination of food borne parasites

1.5-3 kGy

medium dose 1-10 kGy

reduction of spoilage microbes to improve shelf-life of meat, poultry and seafoods under refrigeration

3-7 kGy

medium dose 1-10 kGy

elimination of pathogenic microbes in fresh and frozen meat, poultry and seafoods

10 kGy

medium dose 1-10 kGy

reducing number of microorgaisms in spices to improve hygienic qualtiy

25-70 kGy

high dose above 10 kGy

sterilization of packaged meat, poultry and their products which are shelf-stable without refrigeration

sterilization of hospital diets

radura

In addition to mandatory labelling, irradiated foods may also be marked with a symbol called a ______ which is the international symbol for irradiation.

treated with radiation

TWR

treated by irradiation

TBI

macronut

undergo little change during irradiation even at doses over 10 kGy.

vit B1, C, A, and E

Four vitamins are recognized as being highly sensitive to irradiation

B1

this vit is even more sensitive to heat than to irradiationco

codex alimentarius commission

endorsed a green irradiation logo

radura

international symbol indacating a food product has been irradiated