Re: Dose needed to sterilize

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

On Thu, 6 Feb 1997 772EAR@delphi.com wrote:

> We have a Shepherd Mark 1 irradiator.  For biological inactivation our
> researchers use 1 to 1.5 MRad.  However, for sterilization,  most b
> researchers use 2 to 2.5 MRad,  which is the level I believe the
> FDA recommends for food sterilization.

	---According to the latest info I have, FDA allows the following
maximum food irradiation levels: poultry-300,000 rad; fresh fruits and
vegetables-100,000 rad; pork-100,000 rad; spices-30,000 rad. Of course
these are not intended to sterilize completely, and other considerations
are applicable for food.

Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu