[Chemiluminescence method for the detection of radiation-induced oxidation products in fat-containing foods]

Radiation-induced oxidation of fatty foods was detected by a chemiluminescence method. Hazelnuts, peanuts and poultry were used as foodstuff samples. Additional investigations were performed with a model system and sunflower oil. The irradiation of the samples was carried out in a x-ray-fluorescence-apparatus. Thereby it is to note that the G-value of the x-ray-radiation is much higher than the G-value of a cobalt-60-source normally used for irradiation of food. A dependence of the integral of the light curve on the irradiation doses could be proved. Investigations with model systems which contained different amounts of alpha-tocopherol showed a decreasing chemiluminescence signal at low irradiation doses in presence of alpha-tocopherol. At higher doses the chemiluminescence signal enlarges with increasing amounts of alpha-tocopherol because irradiation products of alpha-tocopherol overlay its antioxidative effect. Irradiated poultry samples differ significantly from unirradiated samples after a deep-freeze storage of 26 weeks. A quantification of the doses is not possible without knowledge of the storage time, because the integrals decrease differently after irradiation during storage. In any case the chemiluminescence method is useful as a "screening method" for the detection of irradiation of foodstuffs with the possibility of automation and high sensitivity.