**3. Food radiation**

The term "food irradiation" refers to any process that exposes food either to electromagnetic radiation or to high-energy particles [2].

Briefly, food radiation is the processing of foods by expounding them to a controlled quantity of ionizing energy for a particular number of times to attain determined technical objectives. Food is irradiated in a particular method facility where it is subject to gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays. The food is strictly monitored to ensure that the precise dose or treatment levels are performed. When used in this way, irradiation is similar to pasteurization of milk, in that the good is left fresh but much more out of danger.

For Harder and Arthur [11], the principal lead of radiation use in food is a completely default of direct use of chemical elements that may leave residuum in treated food, making it unassured for consumption. Thus, ionizing radiation used in food attracted interest around the world from many organizations such as the IAEA, FAO, OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), and WHO along with the participation of 24 countries in studies to untangle the modifications that are consequences of the use of radiation in the food.

Food radiation is ultimately about how much energy is adsorbed by the mark food. It is important to have a metering for what shot of radiation will be necessary independent of the quantity of food to be irradiated. Radiation doses are calculated in kiloGray (kGy). A portion of 1 kGy shows that the goal specimen receives 1000 J (metric units of energy, for short J) per kilogram of sample bulk. The result of radiation on microbes is measured by a dosage called the *D*-value [12].

The effectiveness of the treatment varies based on the type of radiation used (gamma ray, X-ray, or E-beam), the intensity of the radiation, and the purpose of the use in question.

Irradiation destroys injurious bacteria and other organisms, meat, poultry, and seafood, disinfests spices, spreads shelf-life of fresh fruits and vegetables, and also controls budding in tubers (e.g., potatoes) and bulbs (e.g., onions). As in illustration, a very short number of ionizing energy are worn to expunge insect pests from fruit; a little greater number is used on meat or poultry to destroy noxious bacteria, and notably higher number is used to fully sterilize food. Irradiation complements good manufacturing practices without compromising on food quality or nutrition [13].

For Harder and Arthur [9], there are three different irradiation methods (radappertization, radicidation, or radurization) used to inactivate microorganisms based on the severity of the process:

• Radappertization is the most severe of the three irradiation methods. With radappertization or sterilization of food, a dose of irradiation is applied that decreases the activity and number of living microbes (excludes viruses) to such a low level that there is no recognized method for detection. Doses required for radappertization are generally between 25 and 45 kGy [14, 15]. All foods—including eggs without shells in the form of egg white, yolk, or whole egg subjected to radappertization must be parceled in hermetically sealed packets so that there is no recontamination of the product to the environment. Radappertization is popular for use in meat products such as chicken fillets and turkey breast. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the space agency of the United States, uses radappertization to prepare irradiated food for consumption of astronauts during space flights. The irradiated food products have no microbial viability, even at room temperature, provided the package is kept intact. All irradiated foods must have expiration dates regardless of whether the package is kept intact or not because prolonged storage causes chemical and physical changes in these products.

required is less than that for gamma ray irradiation. No radioactive material or byproducts

The term "food irradiation" refers to any process that exposes food either to electromagnetic

Briefly, food radiation is the processing of foods by expounding them to a controlled quantity of ionizing energy for a particular number of times to attain determined technical objectives. Food is irradiated in a particular method facility where it is subject to gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays. The food is strictly monitored to ensure that the precise dose or treatment levels are performed. When used in this way, irradiation is similar to pasteurization of milk,

For Harder and Arthur [11], the principal lead of radiation use in food is a completely default of direct use of chemical elements that may leave residuum in treated food, making it unassured for consumption. Thus, ionizing radiation used in food attracted interest around the world from many organizations such as the IAEA, FAO, OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), and WHO along with the participation of 24 countries in studies to untangle the modifications that are consequences of the use of radiation in the food. Food radiation is ultimately about how much energy is adsorbed by the mark food. It is important to have a metering for what shot of radiation will be necessary independent of the quantity of food to be irradiated. Radiation doses are calculated in kiloGray (kGy). A portion of 1 kGy shows that the goal specimen receives 1000 J (metric units of energy, for short J) per kilogram of sample bulk. The result of radiation on microbes is measured by a dosage called

The effectiveness of the treatment varies based on the type of radiation used (gamma ray, X-ray, or E-beam), the intensity of the radiation, and the purpose of the use in question.

Irradiation destroys injurious bacteria and other organisms, meat, poultry, and seafood, disinfests spices, spreads shelf-life of fresh fruits and vegetables, and also controls budding in tubers (e.g., potatoes) and bulbs (e.g., onions). As in illustration, a very short number of ionizing energy are worn to expunge insect pests from fruit; a little greater number is used on meat or poultry to destroy noxious bacteria, and notably higher number is used to fully sterilize food. Irradiation complements good manufacturing practices without compromising on food

For Harder and Arthur [9], there are three different irradiation methods (radappertization, radicidation, or radurization) used to inactivate microorganisms based on the severity of the process: • Radappertization is the most severe of the three irradiation methods. With radappertization or sterilization of food, a dose of irradiation is applied that decreases the activity and number of living microbes (excludes viruses) to such a low level that there is no recognized method

are used in, or outcome from, the process [2, 10].

in that the good is left fresh but much more out of danger.

radiation or to high-energy particles [2].

**3. Food radiation**

142 Allergen

the *D*-value [12].

quality or nutrition [13].


Other uses with ionizing radiation are the structural alteration of proteins, and it is being investigated as a means of reducing food allergies. Common food allergies in humans include milk β-lactoglobulin, shrimp tropomyosin, and egg albumin. Subjecting food to ionizing radiation changes the antigenicity of food by altering the physical and chemical structure of proteins leading to distortion of the protein's secondary and tertiary structures. Specifically, the epitope area of the food allergen can be modified or destroyed by gamma irradiation so that antibodies to the allergen should never be produced by the individual consuming the irradiated food [9, 16, 17].

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [18] treated that for all food submitted to food irradiation, the Radura symbol can be used to identify the process (**Figure 1**), which should be placed on irradiated food packages in many countries of the world. The Radura symbol originated from and was copyrighted by an irradiation food-processing facility located in Wageningen, Netherlands, in the 1960s. The then president Jan Leemhorst of the company called Gammaster recommended its use as an international label to be placed on irradiated food as long as manufacturers implemented appropriate quality parameters. The Radura symbol is listed in the Codex Alimentarius Standard on Labeling of Prepackaged Food. The FDA requires that foods that have been irradiated bear the "Radura" logo along with the statement "Treated with radiation" or "Treated by irradiation".

**Figure 1.** The Radura symbol.

#### **3.1. Effects of food radiation**

For food irradiation to be safe, radiolytic products (radiolytic products are chemicals created by the interaction of radiation with a substance such as food) must pose no danger for human consumers. Most of radiolytic goods are created by the radiation-rupturing molecular links in water, leaving spare radicals that in turn either recombine into water or interact with other chemicals. Other radiolytic products are created when complex protein molecules are broken into smaller ones. From the standpoint of radiation chemistry, then, irradiation is no more dangerous than cooking food, because radiolytic products formed by food irradiation are all found naturally in non-irradiated food, and the types of compounds formed by irradiation are identical to those formed during the cooking process [19].

Some vitamins, particularly thiamine, undergo an appreciable reduction when exposed to radiation. But in the totality of the diet, however, FDA determined that the average person's intake of these vitamins would be well above the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) [19].

Another situation from the food radiation is water radiolysis, or water broken by the ionizing radiation that forms analytes as H+ and OH<sup>−</sup> . From the water radiolysis, the formation of hydrogen peroxide has great significance in irradiated foods. Like all foods containing substances that can oxidize or reduce, many reactions can occur when foods containing water are irradiated [11].

#### **3.2. Consumer acceptance and marketing of irradiated foods**

Although irradiation cannot prevent primary contamination, it is the most effective tool available to significantly reduce or eliminate harmful bacteria in raw product. Food irradiation has the virtual to dramatically reduce the incidence of foodborne illness and has gained practically consentaneous aid or approbation from international and national medical, scientific, and public welfare organizations, also from food processors and associated industry groups. Numerous consumer studies clearly show that when given a choice and even a small amount of accurate information, consumers are not only willing to buy irradiated foods but also often prefer them over food treated by conventional means [13].
