The Pros And Cons Of Food Irradiation

Radiation (also known as nuclear radiation) refers to particles or waves emitted by radioactive substance. Nuclear radiation comes from the waves from a nucleus. Ionising radiation can

should still be responsible for the people that were exposed to the radiation is because it could spread and accidently cause other to suffer and could help support the people suffering from the radiation. Radiation is energy and it can come from unstable atoms or it can be produced by machines. Radiation travels from its source in the form of energy waves or energized particles. There are actually two kinds of radiation, and one is more energetic than the other. It has so much energy it can knock electrons out of atoms, a process known as ionization. This ionizing radiation can affect the atoms in living things, so it poses a health risk by damaging tissue and DNA in genes. While there are other, less energetic, types of nonionizing radiation (including radio waves, microwaves—and visible light), this booklet is about ionizing radiation (Baes). According to illinoispoisoncenter, radiation comes from the sun and outer space, from man-made sources such as X-ray machines, and from some radioactive materials in soil. Even though radiation cannot technically spread from person to person, we encounter some radiation from foods, water, the air, our own bodies, and through medical procedures throughout our daily life and never usually receive too much that would cause

When people think of radiation they immediately think of the worst case of radiation poisoning. Some people don’t even realize that there is radiation all around us. We use radiation waves for our microwave and cell phones. Doctors use radiation in X-rays and MRI’s. There are different levels of radiation. If we are exposed to too much radiation there will be effects.

People say you can’t fight fire with fire, however, radiation can do just that. Although radiation is known to cause many types of cancer, it is also one of the most effective cures. Radiation as a treatment has been used for years, but in recent years, modern technology allows radiation to become more effective and precise. Radiation is a positive treatment for cancer because it kills cancer cells, it is non-invasive, and it prevents cancer from coming back.

Radiation therapy is the treatment of disease using x-rays or similar forms of radiation. The most common use of radiation therapy is to kill cancer cells. The way it works is by using high energy radiation to shrink the cancer cells. X-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles can be used to kill the cancer cells. This type of radiation therapy is called external beam radiation therapy and is given with a machine called a linear accelerator. Another form of radiation therapy is internal radiation therapy. This method works by placing radioactive material near the cancer cells. A third method is called systemic radiation therapy. Doctors put a radioactive substance into a person’s bloodstream to kill cancer cells. The way radiation therapy works

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 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.

Irradiation play the most important role to prevent foodborne illness and food losses due to spoilage. Therefore, irradiation can significantly strengthen the existing decontamination efforts during the processing, such as a proper washing and well maintained storage to improve the food safety of egg products. The benefits of reducing or eliminating microorganisms might cause a risk of oxidative damages in macromolecules only at high-dose of irradiation. When eggs exposed to low-dose of energy, all variations in their nutritional profile is very slight or minimal. There is no scientific evidence that say shell egg irradiation can be harmful to human beings at low-dose. This is one thing most agreed on. Since irradiation of shell eggs at low

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

The three sources approved for use on foods are gamma Rays, X-Rays and Electron beam or “e-beam” (“Food Irradiation: What You Need to Know”). Gamma rays are emitted from radioactive forms of cobalt or cesium. X-rays are produced by reflecting a high-energy stream of electrons off a target substance into food. Similar to an X-ray electron beam is a stream of high-energy electrons but unlike X-rays it is propelled from an electron accelerator directly into food. The science behind food irradiation dates back to 1905 when the first U.S. and British patents were issued for use of this method to kill bacteria in food. However the process didn’t gain momentum until 1947 when scientist found that high energy had the potential to sterilize and preserve meat and other foods for troops in the field. The U.S. Army began a series of experiments on fruits, vegetables, fish, meats and dairy products in the 1950’s to establish the safety and effectiveness of the irradiation process. Under the 1958 Food Additives Amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, congress gave the FDA full authority over the food irradiation process. The research done by the FDA included toxicological and microbiological evaluation, as well a test for wholesomeness. The FDA has since approved a variety of foods for irradiation in the US including beef, pork, poultry, fresh fruits and vegetables as well as spices and seasonings. The United Nations formally recognized the science behind food irradiation in 1964 with their first meeting of the Joint Expert Committee on Food Irradiation. Their conclusion was that “irradiation of foods up to the dose of 10 kiloGrays introduces no special nutritional or microbiological problems.” Food irradiation is just one step to make food safer, it’s still important to fully cook meat

Effects of ionizing radiations on organisms are extreme which includes: mutations, breakage of hydrogen bonds, oxidation of double bonds, polymerization of some molecules, generation of radicals like singlet oxygen and OH radicals, formation of thymine

The word radiation means several things such as radio waves and light. When such types of radiation travel through substances, it can become charged electrically. When it is also in a tissue that is living, the ions that were produced by the radiation can affect biological processes (IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), n.d.). There are several ways people are exposed to radiation, including x-rays, “radiation used to diagnose diseases and for cancer therapy,” nuclear explosive testing that goes wrong, “small quantities of radioactive materials released into the environment from coal and nuclear power plants,” etc. (IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), n.d.). The radiation that is emitted from cell phones, X-ray machines, and nuclear power plants are very different. They are all energy, but the difference is that unlike the others, cell phones are not radioactive, and harms the body, unlike the others (Ornes, 2011).

Alpha radiations consist of two protons and two neutrons, these mainly occur at the time of alpha decay , Since alpha radiation travel a very short distance hence they can be easily stopped by paper or normal clothes, Alpha radiations are harmful when in contact directly with the skin or the source being swallowed.

The meaning of irradiation is the process of exposure to radiation, such as using gamma rays for sterilization. There have been many controversies about food irradiation. Some people say that using nuclear technology on food can cause harm to the body. But I believe that using nuclear technology is the best way to remove any diseases on food to cause less harm to the human body. Irradiation can also be used to preserve nutrients in food and kill microbes that destroy them. Using preservation procedures exposes food to gamma radiation, a high-energy light that eliminates microorganism and insects. We should be using technology to irradiate food because it allows us to kill pathogens that cause fewer infliction to our human bodies. So I want to increase funding for nuclear technology because we are able to use the technology to improve our safety, preservation, and sterilization.

Joint FAO/IAEA/WHO Expert Committee on the Wholesomeness of Irradiatied Food (JECFI). Landmark decision, doses up to 10 kGy