ME A copy was also sent to Dr Donald R Louria MD, the Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, for comment. Dr Louria has studied the issue of food irradiation for a long period of time.
Food irradiation involves treating certain types of food with ionising energy or radiation.
It is used to destroy bacteria and parasites that cause human illnesses. Different doses of ionising radiation have different effects. At low doses, irradiation lengthens the shelf-life of certain foods such as strawberries and prevents sprouting of potatoes. At higher doses, irradiation helps reduce amounts of harmful bacteria on foods such as dried herbs and spices and chicken. Food irradiation is another way of preserving food to keep it safe and wholesome, similar to pasteurisation and freezing.