Irradiation of Food for Public Health Protection ¹

Irradiation of food has a long history and has potential for improving public health protection, yet the technology is still not being used commercially. Public acceptance of the process has been hindered by fear and controversy, which involved erroneous definition of radiation as a food additive followed by some ill-conceived and ill-interpreted research. In general, all research has indicated radiation to be bactericidal with various degrees of effectiveness, depending on the specific bacteria being studied. The gram-negative psychrotrophic bacteria, as well as other Enterobacteriaceae , are quite sensitive to radiation and these bacteria are of particular interest to those persons responsible for protecting the quality of fresh red meat. Bacteria resisting less than sterilization doses in irradiation processes have been studied. Acquired increased resistance of bacteria through exposure survival, and subsequent growth of pure cultures can be obtained only through special laboratory manipulations. None of the presently available data indicate bacteria surviving irradiation are of special public health significance.