Food Irradiation: Gamma Sterilization Applications and Markets

The food irradiation process is not a new one; it's been around for the past four decades. However, as the world's food supply continues to globalize, with new and exotic fruits and vegetables being introduced to foreign markets almost daily, the need to ensure the safety and quality of these new foods is becoming of critical importance. In 2007, the United States recalled 34 million pounds of beef due to E. coli. As a result, the idea of food safety in local markets has also garnered renewed attention.

Food irradiation is the process of exposing boxes or pallets of food products to radiation from a cobalt-60 source, electron beam, or x-ray. Lower doses of radiation delay ripening, inhibit sprouting, and extend shelf-life by reducing spoilage organisms in fruits and vegetables, helping to meet quarantine standards for export to foreign markets. Slightly higher doses are effective for the dis-infestation of insects in food - eliminating the risk of introducing foreign insects to other countries. Higher doses significantly reduce or kill pathogens such as E.coli, listeria, and salmonella in seafood, meats, and poultry - substantially improving the safety of the food.

While food irradiation is not yet widely adopted, it has been declared "safe and wholesome" by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Some 40 countries around the world have also approved the use of irradiation for more than 100 food types. Today over 175 million pounds of spices and over 15 million pounds of ground beef and poultry are irradiated each year in the U.S. And with recent legislation in the U.S. approving food irradiation as a quarantine treatment for certain fruits being imported into the U.S., food irradiation may be poised for substantial growth.

In the business of gamma sterilization and irradiation for over 40 years, Nordion has the expertise, innovative technology, and resources to further open the food markets of the world, to the benefits of food irradiation.