Facts and fears about food irradiation are addressed

Hodgson, Aurora S.

ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Published by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Charles W. Laughlin, Director and Dean, Cooperative Extension Service, CTAHR, Universityof Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Institution providing programs and services to the people of Hawaii withoutregard to race, sex, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, sexual orientation, or veteran status.Cooperative Extension Service Foods and NutritionNov. 1998FN-3Papayas . . . starfruit . . . mangoes . . . guava . . . youname the exotic fruit, Hawaii’s got it. Like a lusciousfruit basket, the state has an abundance of produce. ButHawaii also has serious pests, like the fruit fly, that forcea quarantine treatment on these delicacies before theycan be exported to the U.S. mainland and Japan.Vapor-heat, high-temperature forced-air, and irra-diation are currently the only quarantine treatments avail-able. Because they use heat, vapor and forced-air treat-ments are inferior to irradiation regarding fruit qualityboth before and after treatment. Irradiation allows fruitto be treated at a riper, tastier stage than the heat treat-ments, which slightly cook produce, further reducingits savoriness and freshness.Irradiation, in contrast to heat treatments, does notchange the raw character of the produce while it elimi-nates the pests that may infest it. Irradiation disrupts thegenetic material of the pests’ cells, inactivating insectsand larvae while preserving plant tissue. This technologyalso controls pathogenic microorganisms such as E. coliand Campylobacter jejuni, which can be carried in spicesand raw animal foods such as ground beef and chicken.Moreover, irradiation hinders food spoilage, pre-vents sprouting of vegetables, and delays fruit ripening.For example, irradiated ground beef and strawberriesmay last days longer than their non-irradiated counter-parts. This can benefit Hawaii’s produce, which takeslonger to reach its export destinations than produceshipped within the continental United States. Irradia-tion allows foods to remain fresh longer, extending shelflife in stores and after purchase. Irradiated fruits couldbe exported on a commercial scale, boosting the state’seconomy, helping ensure the livelihood of local farm-ers, and promoting Hawaii’s agriculture on the main-land and overseas.Food IrradiationTechnology that can Enhance Food Safetyand Hawaii’s EconomySince 1995, Hawaii has used irradiation as a quar-antine treatment on tropical fruits such as papayas andlychees for test markets on the U.S. mainland. (A spe-cial government permit allows limited quantities of thesefruits to be exported, without prior quarantine treatment,to the mainland, where they are irradiated). Consumeracceptance of these fruits has been very favorable. Infact, test marketing of irradiated mango and papaya inFlorida (1986) and in California (1987) showed thatconsumers preferred irradiated fruits to non-irradiatedones by a ratio of 10 to one.Irradiation will not be a substitute for good agricul-tural and manufacturing practices. Nor will it take awayconsumers’ and food-service workers’ responsibility toproperly handle food. But it can enhance the safety andquality of food, reducing the risk of foodborne illness,delaying food spoilage, and satisfying the necessaryquarantine requirements for exported Hawaii producewithout harming its quality.Similar to the debate over milk pasteurization in the1920s, irradiation is a proven, beneficial process in themidst of a public-relations crisis.Opposition to irradiated food has been built uponunfounded claims about unique radiolytic by-products,compromised nutritional value, increased bacterial viru-lence, and danger to workers’ health. Prior to approvingspecific foods for irradiation, the FDA makes sure thatthe radiolytic, microbiological, toxicological, and nu-tritional safety of these foods in their irradiated state areaddressed to its satisfaction. There are no major chemi-cal, physical, or sensory changes in foods that have beenirradiated.Radiation treatment does not make foods radioac-tive. The FDA has reviewed the radiolytic safety of allfoods irradiated with the currently approved sources (co-FN-3 Food Irradiation CTAHR — Nov. 19982balt-60, cesium-137, electron beams, and X-rays). Onlya small number of harmless radiolytic by-products areformed by irradiation, and these are similar to by-prod-ucts formed by cooking or other food processes. No ra-diolytic by-products of any health concern have everbeen found.Irradiation does not cause pathogens to mutate andbecome more virulent. No evidence of increased viru-lence has ever been discovered. In fact, researchers be-lieve that radiation is much more likely to reduce thevirulence of any surviving pathogens.Nutrient losses due to irradiation are much less thanthose from other food processes, such as cooking. Ac-cording to research, irradiation does not affect the nutri-tional content of foods treated at low doses (up to 1 unit,or kilogray). Fruit, for example, is irradiated at low doses.Even at higher doses (10–50 kGy), losses of vitamins inirradiated foods, if they occurred, would not be enoughto be a nutritional health concern.On the basis of nearly 50 years of research, the WorldHealth Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organi-zation of the United Nations, and the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency concluded in a joint meeting in1997 that foods irradiated at any dose are safe and whole-some for human consumption. The agencies also con-cluded that foods irradiated above 10 kGy (1) will notlead to toxicological changes in their composition thatwould have an adverse affect on human health, (2) willgreatly reduce microbiological risk to the consumer, and(3) will not lead to nutrient losses that would have anadverse affect on the nutritional status of humans.Finally, no evidence shows that exposure to an irra-diation facility poses any threat to human health or theenvironment. Workers are no less safe at an irradiationplant than at any other workplace. U.S. irradiation fa-cilities have an excellent record of safety and are care-fully monitored.An irradiator in Hawaii could be used not only forquarantined fruits but also for foods associated withfoodborne illness outbreaks, such as ground beef andchicken. Irradiation may give Hawaii residents greaterconfidence in purchasing these foods. A 1992 study re-vealed that consumers were willing to pay up to $0.81more per meal to reduce the risk of foodborne illness,an amount more than 10 times the estimated cost of treat-ing the food.Successful sale of irradiated produce in four U.S.grocery stores since 1993 indicates consumer accep-tance. A survey reported in the February 1995 Journalof Food Protection indicated that “the majority of con-sumers will respond positively to irradiated foods whenthe advantages of the process are explained and whensafety, nutritional value, and worker and environmentalconcerns are addressed.”About 30 developed and developing countries useirradiation to process a variety of foods, including spices,sausage, rice, fruits, and vegetables. In addition to WHO,FAO, FDA, and IAEA, other organizations supportingirradiation include the Institute of Food Technologists,the American Medical Association, and the AmericanDietetic Association.Aurora S. HodgsonDepartment of Food Science and Human Nutrition

Food Irradiation: Technology That Can Enhance Food Safety and Hawaii's Economy

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Food Irradiation: Technology That Can Enhance Food Safety and Hawaii's Economy

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