ABSTRACT
Most of the applications of food irradiation aim at certain biological effects, such as the destruction of microorganisms, i.e., those causing food spoilage and/or those causing disease in humans, the prevention of sprouting, or the sterilization of insects. Fundamental research in radiation biology and applied research aimed at improved hygiene and reduction of food losses have contributed to the present knowledge of how radiation affects living organisms.
How can radiation kill a cell? What sort of cell damage is responsible for the lethal effect of radiation? Many hypotheses have been proposed and tested. Some scientists, especially in the former Soviet Union, thought “ radiotoxins” were responsible, i.e., toxic substances produced in the irradiated cell. Others proposed that radiation was directly damaging cellular membranes, so that the functioning of subcellular structures was impaied.
