Food Irradiation

Food irradiation is a process of treating a food to a specific dosage of ionizing radiation for a predefined length of time. This process slows or halts spoilage due to the growth of pathogens. Further applications include sprout inhibition, delay of ripening, increase of juice yield, and improvement of re-hydration.

Food irradiation acts by damaging the target organism's DNA beyond its ability to repair. Organisms can no longer successfully continue the process of cell division. The target organism ceases all processes related to maturation or reproduction. At high enough doses the target organism does not survive. Irradiated food does not become radioactive, as the particles that transmit radiation are not themselves radioactive. Still there is some controversy in the application of irradiation due to its novelty, association with the nuclear industry, and the potential for the chemical changes to be different than the chemical changes due to heating food (as ionizing radiation produces a higher energy transfer per collision then conventional radiant heat).

Food irradiation is currently permitted by over 50 countries, and the volume of food treated is estimated to exceed 500,000 metric tons annually worldwide; however, the extent of clearances is varying significantly, from a single item (spices) in the EU to any food in Brazil.

Irradiation is a more general term of the exposure of materials to radiation to achieve a technical goal (in this context "ionizing radiation" is implied). As such it is also used on non-food items, such as medical devices, plastics, tubes for gas pipelines, hoses for floor heating, shrink-foils for food packaging, automobile parts, wires and cables (isolation), tires, and even gemstones.