Pasteurization through Irradiation

Keeping Food Safe

Food irradiation is a technology for controlling spoilage and eliminating foodborne pathogens. The result is similar to pasteurization. The fundamental difference between food irradiation and pasteurization is the source of the energy used to destroy the microbes. While conventional pasteurization relies on heat, irradiation relies on the energy of ionizing radiation.
>The United States has the safest food supply in the world. Still millions of Americans are sickened by food poisoning every year, and an estimated 3,000 people in the U.S. die each year from foodborne illnesses. Meats, fruits and vegetables all have been the source of many recent food scares, including E. coli and other dangerous parasites. Its is getting scary for there are too many unknown outbreaks and they are happening far too often. The question I keep asking myself is what if the food that is getting people sick was irradiated. Might there be fewer cases of these deadly breakouts, fewer cases of hemolytic-uremic syndrome (essentially, kidney failure; there were 900), fewer tragic stories? 

Food Scares in the News today May 9, 2013

E.Coli Outbreak In Texas
No one knows the source of this potentially deadly outbreak of food-born contamination in Bryan College Station. Eight suspected cases of e-coli contamination are being investigated by the Texas state and health officials in Brazos County.  Five of those cases have been confirmed, three requiring hospitalization, including 17-month-old Noah Melton and his four-year-old brother Jack, who are recovering.  An adult was released.
81 Ill in Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Imported Cucumbers
An outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul linked to imported cucumbers has sickened at least 81 people in 18 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pasteurization through Irradiation

Irradiation is the safest and most effective way of killing food-borne pathogens. An unfortunately scary sounding word, the process simply and quickly uses ionizing energy to pasteurize food in a way that does not change the taste or quality of it, but destroys the dangerous germs it can carry (There is no irradiation "residue" left on the meat as some critics suggest, any more than there is a microwave "residue" on your morning coffee after you've reheated it.)

What is Food Irradiation?

Irradiation, also known as cold pasteurization, kills harmful bacteria by briefly exposing food to ionizing radiation, or short energy wavelengths. Irradiation has already been approved for use on many foods, including spices, poultry, wheat flour and ground beef. FDA officials, who have conducted irradiation safety evaluations for more than 40 years, say they have "determined the process to be safe for use on a variety of foods."

 According to the USDA:

"Food irradiation is a technology for controlling spoilage and eliminating food borne pathogens. The result is similar to pasteurization. The fundamental difference between food irradiation and pasteurization is the source of the energy used to destroy the microbes. While conventional pasteurization relies on heat, irradiation relies on the energy of ionizing radiation. 
Food irradiation is a process in which approved foods are exposed to radiant energy, including gamma rays, electron beams, and x-rays. In 1963, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found the irradiation of food to be safe. Irradiation of meat and poultry is done in a government-approved irradiation facility. Irradiation is not a substitute for good sanitation and process control in meat and poultry plants. It is an added layer of safety."

The process was patented for food preservation in 1905 by a French scientist. American research began in 1921 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that irradiation would effectively kill trichinae in pork. Since then, it has gradually gathered momentum with improvements in the technology and the need for new methods to combat food borne illness.

Consumer Acceptance

The public is still unsure about irradiated foods, despite the fact that some food products like spices have been irradiated since the 1900s. No radioactive substances remain in irradiated foods. Irradiation is a type of energy that disappears when the energy source is removed.