engleski

Current status of Food irradiation

Major cause of food spoilage is the action of living organisms which infest our foods: bacteria, molds, fungi, parasites, mites and insects. Irradiation by ionizing radiation is the only universal biocidal agent which can be applied to a wide range of foods in their native state. The principal effect produced by ionizing radiations in irradiated living matter is its damaging action on the DNA molecule. Irradiation is thus capable of inactivating or killing various organisms present in foods. The eradication of viable organisms from foods leads to the improvement of both its shelf stability and hygienic quality. Technically, irradiation of foods can be performed by gamma rays from suitable isotopic sources (60Co and 137Cs) or by accelerated electrons or X-rays from machine sources. For several decades food irradiation was the subject of an unprecedented research effort worldwide. Several specialized agencies of the United Nations have been providing the umbrella for the coherent actions in the field: FAO, WHO and IAEA. The milestone event was the publication of the WHO Technical Report No 659 (1981), followed by the corresponding Codex Alimentarius standard for irradiated foods (1984) which set the stage for the scientifically based food irradiation. Nowadays about 50 countries have legal regulations pertaining to food irradiation. Two principal attitudes are obvious: restrictive approach, taken mainly by the European Union countries, and a liberal one taken mainly by the USA. In many countries the advancement of food irradiation has been hampered by less-than-enthusiastic acceptance of the industry, the ignorance of the public and the rejection of the authorities. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union issued the »framework Directive« 1999/2/EC "on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning foods and food ingredients treated with ionizing radiation", completed by the »implementing Directive« 1999/3/EC "on the establishment of a Community list of foods and food ingredients treated with ionizing radiation". The European Commission was due to develop a final positive list by the end of the year 2000, but failure todo so leaves dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings as the only category of foodstuffs authorized for irradiation treatment at the permitted maximum overall average absorbed dose of 10 kGy. On the other hand, (and on the other side of the Atlantic – for you: the Pacific) much progress has been noted recently in the USA. Irradiated poultry has been commercially available since 1996. Following the approval in 1999 commercial irradiation of refrigerated fresh ground beef and frozen beef patties started in 2000. Irradiated meat and poultry are available for use in the National School Lunch Program aiming to reduce E.coli O157:H7 and other foodborne pathogens.

food irradiation; foodborne diseases; lagislative aspects

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