Consumers are increasingly aware of the potential microbiological hazards in their food and are calling for effective food safety controls. Government regulators, public health authorities, health professionals, scientists, consumer groups and the food industry all agree that prevention of foodborne illness is a primary food safety goal. Food irradiation is a safe and effective technology to destroy harmful pathogens sometimes present in food. Food irradiation is the process of exposing food products to ionizing energy for a specified length of time. The amount of exposure is controlled to produce various preservation effects, such as retarding spoilage or killing any harmful bacteria.
Food irradiation is one tool for improving food safety by killing pathogenic microorganisms.
The first patents for food irradiation were granted in the United States and United Kingdom in 1905. Since then, hundreds of studies on the effects of food irradiation have been reviewed by the U.S. government and other governments worldwide. It is the most extensively studied food processing technology available. In the United States, the FDA has approved food irradiation to extend shelf-life and to kill microbial pathogens. Food irradiation has been approved for fruits, vegetables, grains, spices, poultry, beef, pork and lamb.