Re: Food Irradiation

[Jim Muckerheide <muckerheide@mediaone.net>]

Daniel L. Harlan wrote:
> 
>      I would like to expand on this question:
>      What dose would be required to destroy E. coli in beef?  What
> type of irradiation would you use: Co-60?  What would be a practical
> activity and irradiation time to kill E. coli in a meat production facility?
>      What changes could you expect in the beaf after processing:
> taste, nutritional value, appearance, storage requirements...
> 
>      I obviously don't have much of an education in food irradiation,
> but I find it an increasingly important topic because of the health
> risk when food is not handled very carefully, from the time it's first
> processed to storage to the time it's cooked and served to you on
> a plate.  Not to mention the expense passed on to consumers from
> short shelf life and expensive food refrigeration.
> 
>      Anyone out there feel like educating us on what differences we
> would expect in our food (not our politics) if it were possible to
> irradiate various foods in the U.S.?
> 
>      Dan Harlan
>      harland@ccmail.orst.edu

Dan and all, 

You can check out:

http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/inforesource/other/food/index.html
IAEA

http://www.ift.org/PostProcess.cgi?/sc/news_rel/961226.html+/export/htdocs/ift.org
Food Technologists

http://hammock.ifas.ufl.edu/txt/fairs/39648
http://hammock.ifas.ufl.edu/txt/fairs/30614
Univeristy of Florida

http://tron.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/WHO/programmes/fnu/fos/publist.htm
http://tron.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/WHO/programmes/fnu/fos/whopb3.htm
These WHO sites didn't come up just now, but they were very good
 
http://www.foodsafety.org/bio2.htm

http://www.eatright.org/irradi.html
American Dietetic Assoc Position Statement, says eg: after summarizing the
reduced losses of nutrient effects compared to other forms of food processing;
"Sensory qualities such as appearance and flavor have been evaluated in the
laboratory (8,17,19,20) and in market studies with consumers (15,20).
Consumers consistently rate irradiated fruit as equal or better than
nonirradiated fruits in appearance, freshness, and taste (15,20,21)."

Lots of good stuff.

Regards, Jim Muckerheide
jmuckerheide@delphi.com