Gents, try the following iaea web site for information:
http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/inforesource/other/food/index.html
The following excerpt was downloaded from:
http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/inforesource/other/food/chemical.html
Rey Bocanegra
Dept of Energy
Richland Operations Office
Richland, WA
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In general, the irradiation process produces very little chemical change in
food. None of the changes known to occur have been found to be harmful or
dangerous.
Some of the chemical changes produce so-called "radiolytic" products. These
products have proven to be familiar ones, such as glucose, formic acid,
acetaldehyde, and carbon dioxide, that are naturally present in foods or are
formed by heat processing. The safety of these radiolytic products has been
examined very critically, and no evidence of their harmfulness has been found.
The United States Food and Drug Administration has estimated that the total
amount of undetected radiolytic products that might be formed when food is
irradiated at a dose of 1 kilogray would be less than 3 milligrams per kilogram
of food--or less than 3 parts per million.
Q: Do the "free radicals" which are
produced during irradiation affect the
safety of the food?
No. There is no evidence to suggest that free radicals, per se, affect the
safety of irradiated food.
Free radicals - which in scientific terms are atoms or molecules with an
unpaired electron - can be formed during the irradiation process, as well as by
certain other food treatments (such as toasting of bread, frying, and freeze
drying) and during normal oxidation processes in food. They are generally very
reactive, unstable structures, that continuously react with substances to form
stable products.
Free radicals disappear by reacting with each other in the presence of liquids,
such as saliva in the mouth. Consequently, their ingestion does not create any
toxicological or other harmful effects. This has been confirmed by a long-term
laboratory study in which animals were fed a very dry milk powder irradiated at
45 kilogray, more than four times the maximum approved dose for food
irradiation. No mutagenic effects were noted and no tumours were formed. No
toxic effects were apparent in the animals over nine successive generations.
Similarly, a toast of bread (unirradiated), which actually contains more free
radicals than very dry foods that have been irradiated, can be expected to be
harmless.
Scientific and Technical References:
Recommendations for Evaluating the Safety of Irradiated Foods, by A.P. Brunetti
et.al., Final Report prepared for the Director, Bureau of Foods, US Food and
Drug Administration, Washington, DC (1980).
"Radiolytic Products--Are They Safe?", by C. Merritt, Safety Factors Influencing
the Acceptance of Food Irradiation Technology, IAEA TECDOC-490, Vienna (1989).
Safety of Irradiated Foods, 2nd Edition, by J.F. Diehl, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New
York (1995).