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Food irradiation exposes food to the equivalent of 30 million chest X-rays.Irradiation creates new chemicals in foods called radiolytic products. Some of these products are known cancer-causing substances (like benzene in irradiated beef). Others are unique to the irradiation process and no one knows what effects these have on human health.Irradiation destroys essential vitamins and nutrients that are naturally present in food. No studies have been done to show that a long-term diet of irradiated foods is safe. Safer, well-tested alternatives to irradiation exist. Irradiation plants pose environmental threats to workers and surrounding communities. The transportation of nuclear materials to irradiation facilities also poses severe public health risks. What's Wrong with Food Irradiation? Irradiation damages the quality of food. Foods that have been exposed to ionizing radiation have second-rate nutrition and "counterfeit freshness." Irradiated fats tend to become rancid. Even at low doses, some irradiated foods lose 20% of vitamins such as C, E, K, and B complex. Because irradiation breaks down the food's cell walls, accelerated vitamin losses occur during storage--up to 80%. Ironically, irradiation both creates harmful free radicals and destroys the antioxidant vitamins necessary to fight them! When electron beams are used, trace amounts of radioactivity may be created. In Europe, food irradiation has been used to camouflage spoiled seafood. Consumers should ask, "Why is the food suddenly so dirty that it has to be irradiated?" Irradiation produces toxic byproducts in the food. Ionizing radiation knocks electrons out of atoms and creates free radicals. These free radicals react with food components, creating new radiolytic products, some of which are toxic (benzene, formaldehyde, lipid peroxides) and some of which may be unique to irradiated foods. No one knows the long term impact of eating unknown quantities of these damaged foods. Studies on animals fed irradiated foods have shown increased tumors, reproductive failures and kidney damage. Chromosomal abnormalities occurred in children from India who were fed freshly irradiated wheat. Irradiation using radioactive materials is an environmental hazard. In Georgia, radioactive water escaped from an irradiation facility; the taxpayers were stuck with $47 million in cleanup costs. In New Jersey, radioactive water was poured into drains that emptied into the public sewer system. Few communities want the increased risks of hosting irradiation facilities and the periodic transport of radioactive materials to and from irradiators. Numerous worker exposures have occurred worldwide. Irradiation is a quick fix with long-term consequences. Irradiation doesn't kill all bacteria; those that survive are radiation-resistant. Eventually these bacteria will require higher doses of radiation. Irradiation doesn't kill the bacterium that causes botulism, or viruses. It can't be used on dairy products, a major source of food poisoning. If the labels are removed, irradiation will be used very widely because producers will 'follow the leader' and irradiate to prevent themselves from liability for food poisoning, no matter how remote the possibility. The costs, as always, will be passed on to the consumer. Irradiation doesn't solve the problem, it just covers it up. In a 1997 CBS nationwide poll, 77% of US consumers did not want irradiated food. This public resistance is why food trade associations have been plotting to eliminate all requirements for labeling irradiated food. Irradiation is not the only option for providing clean and sustainable food. Cleaning up filthy slaughter houses, slowing down processing lines, increasing the number of federal meat inspectors, and encouraging local and organic agriculture instead of factory farming are just a few proposals that can lead to long-term food safety solutions without the risks of irradiation.
Food irradiation "
Physical method to solve the problem of food loss:
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the world today is access to adequate food supplies to meet the growing needs of population growth. According to UN estimates of recent years, about 18% of the population of developing countries suffer from hunger, poverty and food shortages.
Today, the countries of the world can not bear more food losses, especially the Third World countries, which often suffer from high temperatures and humidity, which are conducive to rapid food corruption, so humans have to volunteer their expertise, science and technology In order to solve the problem of food by improving agricultural production and means of production, as well as applying all knowledge of food preservation and preservation of food.
One of the modern methods that may contribute to reducing the problem of food loss is the "food irradiation", which is: "a physical method of food preservation that uses ionizing radiation for a specific period of time and a certain amount of food, Free radicals within food ".
Free radicals are defined as atoms of elements that contain a single electron, and are unstable compounds; they interact with food components at high speed to produce more stable compounds.
Food irradiation is usually used in gamma rays, the most widely used application, electron beam, or x-ray, for food preservation and long-term safety.
Radiation is used to kill pathogenic microorganisms that are present in foods and those that cause food damage, kill insects, worms, parasites and eggs, as well as to prevent their growth and spread within foods, taking into account the chemical and physical properties of food.
The use of radiation as a means of preserving food is one of the relatively modern and unfamiliar methods of Arab society, and any reader of the title of the subject has no information about the irradiation of food using gamma rays, which comes to his mind many questions; the most important: What gamma rays and their pros and cons? Is the use of these rays in the preservation of food is safe and safe and does not cause any health damage to consumers? Does food show that radiation makes food radiant? Are there any major industrialized countries using this technology, and what do consumers think? Does their use in food have a negative or positive effect on food quality and sensory properties? And how does the consumer know that food has been exposed to radiation?
Gamma rays
Gamma rays belong to electromagnetic radiation. They are waves that consist of an electric field and a magnetic field that are always perpendicular. These rays travel in the vacuum at the speed of light, equivalent to 186,000 miles per second.
Gamma rays are produced in the form of small beams of energy called photons. Gamma rays are emitted as a result of disturbances in the nucleus, where the energy is more than normal. In order to dispose of the unstable nucleus of atoms, it emits gamma rays and other particles ; Such as alpha particles, and beta particles.
The cobalt (cobalt-60) and cesium (cesium-137) is used as a source of gamma rays, but cobalt-60 is the most commonly used. Gamma rays are high-energy rays and good penetration ability, making these rays a new and effective tool in food preservation, and uses the unit Gray or Kilogray to express the amount of food absorption of these rays.
Pros and cons of irradiation of food
As with other means and methods of food preservation, food irradiation involves a number of pros and cons. The most important benefits and benefits of food irradiation include:
1. Increase the shelf life of irradiated food without becoming radioactive food.
2 - significantly reduce the content of food from human pathogenic bacteria; such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli.
3 - Kill insects, worms, beetles, lichens and butterflies located inside and outside food, especially in cereals and legumes.
4 - Sterilization of food without causing the increase in temperature, so it is called cold sterilization method, which does not affect the sensory properties of food.
5 - The absence of residual irradiation after food exposure to irradiation, as is the case with pesticides residues.
6. No harmful or carcinogenic compounds of humans or animals should be used when using internationally recommended irradiation doses.
7. The possibility of irradiation of frozen and packaged foods.
8 - Inhibition of germination of potato tubers or onions during storage for long periods.
9 - delay the maturation of many fruits; such as strawberries and tomatoes, by inhibiting the hormones of maturity in them.
10. Reducing the amount of anti-nutrient factors available in some plant foods such as legumes, such as lecithins, soapins, and trypsin inhibitors.
Currently, more than 60 countries, according to the 2007 IAEA report, have allowed food irradiation and enacted laws to facilitate the export and entry of irradiated food to those countries, including the United States, Canada, South Africa, France, China, Mexico, Denmark, Brazil, Argentina and Russia.
The most important disadvantages of food irradiation
1. High cost of food irradiation unit.
2 - Loss of bacteria and enzymes useful during irradiation.
3 - the possibility of developing complex types of microorganisms become resistant to irradiation.
4 - Microbiological toxins do not break with irradiation, but are more resistant to irradiation of bacteria.
5. The consumer's reluctance to eat irradiated food due to lack of information about irradiation of food, lack of understanding of the nature of irradiated food in terms of being irradiated and harmless, and that irradiated compounds are very similar to compounds resulting from traditional food treatment.
In one of the major industrialized countries, the proportion of consumers consuming irradiated food rose from less than 15 percent to more than 75 percent of the total number of consumers after governments launched educational campaigns through various media to increase consumer awareness and improve the image of irradiated food They have.
Applications of irradiation on food
The application of gamma rays to food depends on several factors, the most important of which are:
1. Foods that contain high levels of fat, such as obesity or butter, can not be irradiated because of the increase in unwanted odors, which irradiate the reactions of the pig.
2. Type of microorganisms or insects to be disposed of: For example, viruses need higher doses of irradiation than bacteria to get rid of, and bacteria need higher doses of irradiation insects and worms.
3. Irradiation efficiency is reduced if there is a cover around the food or if the food is frozen or irradiated in air-free conditions.
Although irradiation does not make food radioactive, many compounds are produced and synthesized within irradiated food, known as "decaying compounds". Studies have shown that these compounds are produced in very small quantities at 3 parts per million The food is exposed to 1 kilojoure of irradiation dose, and these compounds are not exclusive to irradiated food, but can be found naturally in foods or after food is treated with heat. These compounds include: glucose, formic acid, acetyl-aldehyde and carbon dioxide.
Toxicity studies have shown for long periods that irradiation does not cause any health damage or produces toxins, nor does it cause cancer or genetic mutations when eating irradiated food by humans or animals alike.
Yeah . Is a long-term risk to human health such as cancer
No, it is not proven. It is used for big barches of food (patatoes mainly).
Yes, carcinogenicity, where the treatment of radioactive excreta leads to the division of Metoza inside the cell and to the cancer
I dont have any issue with food concerning with the health .
