ABSTRACT
Food irradiation is a food preservation process or method that can protect food from microorganisms, insects, and other pests that can make our food supply unsafe or undesirable. Compared with other food preservation processes, food irradiation has many advantages, such as low energy consumption and low cost (even compared with conventional refrigeration and deep freezing). It is a cold process, which means that there are no changes in texture of the food, such as those that occur with canning or freezing. Food irradiation is an excellent alternative to chemical fumigants, such as the banned ethylene dibromide, and as a process is extremely effective to control many foodborne diseases, e.g., salmonellosis. Finally, as a process, food irradiation can reduce postharvest losses, which can be a vital tool in the war to eliminate world hunger. Currently, farmers lose as much as 30% of their harvest because of pests, and this loss can be reduced by food irradiation.
