ABSTRACT
Although known in principle since the 1900s, that is, shortly after the discovery of x-rays and radioactivity, food irradiation by x-and γ-rays or by electron beam has been introduced only recently, as a new technological process, mainly to reduce spoilage losses and to improve hygienic quality (Raf and Kister 2008). Many investigations have been devoted to possible health hazards and, in 1980, a Joint Food and Agriculture (FAO)/ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)/World Health Organisation (WHO) Expert Committee meeting (FAO/IAEA/ WHO 1981) concluded that “the irradiation of any food commodity up to an overall average dose of 10 kGy presents no toxicological hazard; hence, toxicological testing of foods so treated is no longer required.” More recently, a new FAO/IAEA/WHO study group also recognized that there is no toxicological hazard even for doses higher than 10 kGy (FAO/IAEA/WHO 1999).
