Re: FOOD IRRADIATION AND THE PRESERVATION OF VIT. C -Reply

[welch@CEBAF.GOV (welch)]

My two cents worth...

You might want to try to find a local facility that is not necessarily in
the business of food irradiation - i.e. a laboratory, university, nuc plant,
etc. that has access to a reasonably high range gamma irradiator or
calibration range.  The way I understand it, food preservation is usually
done with ten to hundred kilorad range doses, for - among other reasons -
the purposes of limiting the effect on vitamin "depletion", and that you
don't want to kill ALL the bacteria (ruins the taste and texture).  The
shelf life for most foods can be extended for very long periods without the
megadose levels we usually assume.
At any rate, you might find a local person who is willing to stick your
sample in their instrument calibration range for a few hours and dose it up
to an acceptable level. Your nearest nuclear plant should have a public
relations officer who could put you in touch with the health physics types
there who may take interest in your project and help you out.  I'm not sure,
but I don't think you have to have a specific license to put an orange in a
Shepard calibrator for a science project, but I wouldn't swear to it.

Keith Welch
welch@cebaf.gov

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>Kimberly(s) -- Kearfott and Kouba.
>
>As I understand the process, food irradiation requires doses
>of several megarads to be effective ... a wee bit impractical in
>the classroom, I would think. I know of at least one (1)
>commercial irradiator in Illinois ... Sterigenics, Inc. in
>Shaumberg ... and I'm sure that there are others. There might
>be a licensing issue involved ... primarily whether or not the
>company is licensed to irradiate food products.
>
KW