Food Irradiation

Food is needed for survival and is a major component of developing cultural and personal identities, but food can also be harmful. Throughout history, humans have been trying to find ways to safely and effectively store and preserve food, including salting, fermentation, and canning. When new food technologies are developed, risk communicators try to promote (or challenge) these technologies in ways that are interesting and informational to both the press and the general public. One such technology that has gained a good deal of media spotlight over the past several years is food irradiation.

Food irradiation is a relatively new technology for many people in the general public. It became headline news in the 1980s and has continued to be a topic of debate through the ...