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 early part of the 21st century. This technology, however, has a history that is over 100 years old, dating back to a patent issued in 1905 in the United Kingdom. By 1929, U.S. cigar makers were using X-ray technology to kill beetles that were infesting their cigar shipments. These new machines were continually breaking down, so the manufacturers turned to newly discovered and cheaper pesticides to do the job.

Things began to change when the nuclear age provided more accessible radioactive materials and better technology, fueled in large part by the cold war. Given better and more reliable nuclear technologies, interests were renewed in the practical applications of radioactive material. As early as 1947, food irradiation experiments were being conducted in the United States and in other countries. By the 1950s, institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Washington were conducting their own irradiation experiments, often with financial backing from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

The process of irradiation involves exposing food to ionizing energy, which can include radioactive materials, such as cobalt 60 or cesium 137, X-rays, or high-energy electron beams. The ionizing radiation breaks down the molecular structure of the cells that are present in the food at the time of exposure, killing bacterial organisms, such as E. coli and salmonella, and insects, such as fruit flies. The molecular reconfiguration of many fruits and vegetables keeps them from spoiling or sprouting quickly, which for the consumer means a longer shelf life.

The first full-scale food irradiation plant was opened near Mulberry, Florida, in 1992. Within the Mulberry plant, food is loaded onto a conveyor belt and then transported to the treatment room, which contains the radioactive material (in this case, cobalt 60). The food is then bombarded with the electrons that are breaking free of the cobalt. After the food is treated (the length of the treatment depends on government designated dosages and thickness of the food and packaging), it is taken out of the room and sent to its final destination.

What can be risky about food that is bacteria-free and maintains a longer shelf life? For some opponents, there are a number of issues. First, irradiation facilities are an environmental risk due to the presence of radioactive materials (there is also a possibility of accidents while shipping radioactive materials to these facilities). Second, irradiation breaks down beneficial nutrients as it is killing harmful bacteria. It can also be used to compensate for poor handling practices by food producers and manufacturers, and it alters the flavor and texture of some foods. Finally, there is an argument over whether or not food that has been irradiated can be labeled as fresh, as irradiation can actually cook the [Page 303]food that is exposed to it, much like microwaving food, if the dosage is too high; if the dosage is too low, irradiation can be of little use.

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