Food Irradiation

The Beta travels faster and penetrates further than any other. Gamma rays are the most dangerous from all since the can travel further and damage tissues and organs. Radiation can be measured in doses such as the Roentgens and the Rem. Radiation in our planet can come from cosmic radiation, terrestrial sources, the body, or man-made sources such as diagnostic radiology and therapeutic radiology. When a person is exposed to radiation he/she can suffer from acute effects also known as effects that occur quickly or chronic effects which are known as long term effects. People can handle chronic exposure to radiation better than a large amount of radiation within a short period of time. People who have a been exposed to large amounts of radiation within a short period of time can become ill quickly such as in acute radiation sickness or could potentially die from such exposure. Exposure to radiation can cause illnesses such as cancer, cataracts, and could ultimately cause a reduction in life. America uses emergency managers to handle aspect of all emergencies posed to communities across the country. Emergency managers use The Radiological Protection System trains and aids communities when radiological emergencies occur. In the United

Food irradiation (the application of ionizing radiation to food) is a technology that improves the safety and extends the shelf life of foods by reducing or eliminating microorganisms and insects (“U.S. Food and Drug Administration” 1). If food is not irradiated correctly, there may potentially be health hazards.

The mostly widely used techniques to inactivate microbes in food industry are conventional thermal pasteurization and sterilization. Thermal processing does kill vegetative microorganism and some spores (Peng et al., 2012), however, the effectives of this processing rely on the treatment time and temperature which are also proportional to the amount of nutrient loss, deterioration of functional properties of functional products and development of

Is it safe? This is a natural question when discussing sending radiation through your food. Especially this day in age when everyone is so conscious of what goes through their body. I’m here to assure you though that it’s completely safe. According to Dr. Charlotte P. Brennand, a food safety specialist at Idaho State University, the irradiation process does not cause food to become radioactive and has little to no nutritional harm to the food. In reality, food that is irradiated is more nutritional than food that is not irradiated. The FDA stated that irradiation improves the safety and shelf life of treated foods by reducing or eliminating insects and microorganisms. When food is irradiated, you may lose a little natural nutritional content

Two outbreaks in late 2006 of food-borne illness involving E. coli O157:H7 on spinach and lettuce have intensified the sense of urgency about reducing the risks of pathogens in fresh produce. Members of the produce industries, government regulatory agencies and consumers all share the desire to take effective steps to eliminate or sharply reduce risks from E. coli and other produce-born disease-causing organisms. In the current climate, interest has grown in the possibility that food irradiation, a long-available technology already being used as an antibacterial treatment for some poultry and ground beef, could be applied to mitigate problems associated with human pathogens in fresh fruits and vegetables. Irradiation has also been used to kill

Irradiation is a process that that makes food products last longer in store shelves, freezers, and kills harmful living organisms. “Irradiation does not make foods radioactive, compromise nutritional quality, or noticeably change the taste, texture, or appearance of food”(FDA, 6/28/16). Irradiation is meant to help make meat last longer and stay fresh and healthy for a long time. It does not make the meat radioactive. Irradiation is also meant to kill any type of bacteria, parasites, and illness. Irradiation is used on the following foods, “beef and pork, crustaceans, fruits and vegetables, poultry, seeds for planting, eggs, shellfish, and spices and seasonings.” (FDA, 6/28/16). This is why I think that Irradiation in meat is needed.

Food irradiation is the exposure of a carefully measured amount of ionizing radiation to food. This is done in a processing room or a sealed chamber for a specified amount of time. With food irradiation, energy from radiation breaks chemical bonds, leaving the food fresh and nutritious, but with specific benefits, depending on the treatment type. (1) Food irradiation kills bacteria in the food and interferes with its molecular bonds to stop it from multiplying. (2)

If food irradiation technology is used to preserve food, and extends their shelf life by killing harmful bacteria’s, insects, parasites, and viruses, then many phases of mitotic activity within the cell will be stopped, because radiation may interrupt the cell division, by damaging their DNA, reducing the rate of growth within the cell, which would result in cells failure to pass regulations of the cell cycle.

The human body is made up of approximately 80% water (H2O) molecules. When radiation strikes a water molecule it causes radiolysis. Radiolysis is the disassociation of water into an ion pair (H+ and OH-) and two free radicals (H* and OH*). Free radicals are highly reactive, unstable and capable of disrupting bonds and causing deoxyribonucleic (DNA) damage. DNA is the molecule that holds the genetic information needed for cell duplication and is considered the target molecule for radiobiology. Ionization is the removal of an orbiting electron from an atom. There are two effects of ionizing radiation on a cell: indirect and direct. Direct action occurs when DNA is hit by ionizing radiation. Indirect action occurs when free radicals transfer

Radiation is often negatively connotated; however, this impression is inappropriate. Radiation is extremely beneficial in the standards of medicine and is a very predominant as well as an effective way of not only creating energy, but testing how old a fossil is or even how a substance will stand to the test of time. On behalf of the advancements brought to the surface by these developments, the possibility of genetically altering crops with radiation has become possible. With the advancements brought to the light in the early twentieth century, gamma radiation began to hold its own. Gamma radiation is extremely beneficial to society because of its contributions the agrarian culture in the world.

Food irradiation is a common way to remove microorganisms and kill bacteria in food matter. Though it’s a common practice, taking these kinds of foods is gaming and I would not risk my health by taking these foods. And I check the package of milk, meat(chicken) and fruit(organic cherry) in my refrigerator, they are all without Radura Symbol. The following arguments explain the reason why I would not risk my life by these kinds of foods.

Cobalt-60, a radioactive isotope of cobalt-59, was discovered by Glenn T. Seaborg and John Livingood at the University of California during the late 1930’s. Cobalt-60 was discovered by placing cobalt-59 in a nuclear reactor and then bombarded with neutrons to deliberately produce the radioactive cobalt-60. Over time cobalt-59 will absorb a neutron and become cobalt-60. Cobalt-60 emits beta and gamma radiation during its decay process. The use of cobalt-60 has been notable throughout its conception and is most notable nowadays in the use of food irradiation. Food irradiation is the process of bombarding food with radiation to sanitise the food and kill any bacteria. However, food irradiation treatment has raised many concerns over potentially

Conventional shipping cartons have ventilation holes which allows air to circulate around the product, but this also allows the produce to continue ripening and exposes to bacteria and pathogens, which contributes to loss. FreshTec’s patented packaging technology employs a breathable plastic liner inside a cardboard carton, which is sealed with a plastic lid. It’s part of a growing segment of food packaging using modified atmosphere technology. The liner and plastic lid slow the amount of oxygen entering the carton and also traps some of the carbon dioxide the produce expels, effectively putting it to sleep for up to a month of travel time. Overall, FreshTec provides more time for produce to reach the market, which reduce the likelihood of loss or waste.

As more information becomes available to the public about the detrimental effect of excessive radiation on human health, the United States government has entrusted the NRC with protecting of the public from exposure to nuclear products. To this end, the NRC is constantly putting out

During the time of delivery of food products from producer to consumer, huge amounts of global fresh food products are rendered unsafe for consumption as their shelf life is