Irradiated food

[Keith.Millington@csiro.au]

I haven't been following the irradiation of foodstuffs debate of late, but

one of the objections that has been raised a lot in the past is the

formation of free radicals in food. Most free radicals R. will react very

rapidly with oxygen in air (a biradical) to form oxidised ROO. radicals. 



So although gamma irradiation will kill the microbes, unless steps are taken

to exclude O2 then proteins, carbohydrates, fats etc will oxidise to some

extent. Natural antioxidants like Vitamins C and E and gluathione present in

the foodstuffs will also be consumed as they try to mop up any radicals. 



I suppose there are three points worth considering.

1) What is the extent of oxidation  in various different foodstuffs ?

2) Are any of the oxidation products toxic ?

3) To what extent does the production of oxidation products affect the taste

?



Is there a good recent review available somewhere on this topic ?





Keith Millington

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