[Vitamin A in irradiated foodstuffs (author's transl)]

Vitamin A losses induced by 10 MeV electrons in cream cheese, calf liver sausage, pig liver, whole egg powder and margarine continued to increase during storage for 4--8 weeks in presence of air. Thus vitamin A loss in sausage irradiated with 5 Mrad was 22% on the day after irradiation, 61% after 4 weeks. Irradiation and storage at 0 degrees C instead of at ambient temperature reduced these losses considerably. Exclusion of air (vacuum, nitrogen) or irradiation on dry ice (approx. -80 degrees C) were even more effective in preventing destruction of vitamin A. After 4 weeks of storage, cream cheese irradiated at 5 Mrad had lost 60% when irradiated and stored in air at ambient temperature, 20% in nitrogen atmosphere, 5% in vacuum package, and 5% when irradiated on dry ice and stored at ambient temperature.