An Introduction to the basics of Food Irradiation

Did you know one of the more unique ways of preserving and guaranteeing safe quality food is by exposing it to radiation?

This is typically done through either gamma or x-ray’s, and if you were a comic book geek or just a laymen fan of the Avengers, you might immediately think of The Incredible Hulk and have concerns, but fear not dear reader! This is a safe processing method that can guarantee longer shelf life and sustainability for food.

In very simple terms, the treated food of choice is exposed to electron beams or ionized radiation which kill the germs on the food that could cause foodborne illness or poisoning.

This typically occurs once the food has been packed and is the final stage of the production process, occurring at a dedicated facility and before the product ships to the end customer.

Unlike other processes like pasteurization or canning, no heat is used, and as such, it can be considered a “cold” method of preservation.

If you are critically minded, you might be thinking right now, what are the benefits and drawbacks of this?

That’s a fair question, so let’s dive in:

How does food irradiation happen?

First and foremost, it’s important to stress that while food irradiation is safe and has large commercial benefits, it should never be used substitute for other Good Manufacturing Practices.

Irradiation occurs at the end of your practice and should be the final step in ensuring safe quality products – but never as the only means of preservation or food.

This means that the food manufactured has already followed all best practices that align with Codex Alimentarius or the dedicated standard of your choice, whether that be BRCGS, FSSC, Global GAP, SQF or any other GFSI or similar scheme.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, there’s a fantastic guide on the CDC website for this that is very accessible.

Typically packaged food like vegetables, meat, or spices are sent to a dedicated facility and passed through an irradiation chamber which bursts concentrated ionised radiation onto the food to destabilize its hydrogen bonds, which prevents DNA and RNA replication.

The food actually absorbs this radiation but once the treatment concludes, it quickly dissipates and leaves, causing no long term effect.

Once the food has been treated any free radicals that form are extremely reactive and so do not have a lasting presence.

It has no impact on non-living tissue and can also be used to slow down vegetable ripening due to the same factors.

Is it Safe?

Food irradiation is a common enough practice that is carried out in more than 60 countries over more than 500,000 tons of food products each year.

With the correct application, it is a safe practice that can enhance the robustness of a food safety system, but it should never be used to substitute for other Good Manufacturing Practices.

For example, should you spot rot or decay on produce, the item should be discarded.

While applying irradiation to it will prevent further decay, it will not negate the damage that has already been done.

As climate change and global supply chains increase in complexity, its place may become more common as it provides an additional guarantee that invasive insects or harmful species are not being shipped undetected in final products.

Although irradiation is a common practice, its commonality and application does vary from region to region.

In countries that have adopted the Codex Alimentarius in full, such as Pakistan and Brazil, there are no restrictions to its use, but the EU only allows herbs, spices, vegetable seasonings, cereals, raw milk, some bindings and shellfish to be used.

It should be noted, that even though there are restrictions currently, there is disagreement within the EU with some countries wishing to expand it to include the likes of chicken meat, egg whites, frog legs and crustaceans such as shrimp.

In these circumstance, some national agencies allow greater freedom to apply irradiation to food stuffs, but other countries can exercise their right to block their import.

It is important irradiated food is always clearly highlighted so consumers can make an informed opinion.

The Radura symbol

The Radura logo is an internationally recognised symbol that was introduced in the 1960’s that can be placed on all treated food products to show they have been exposed to irradiation.

The word itself is a portmanteau, combining the first half of “radiation” with “durus”, a Latin word meaning ‘hard’ or ‘lasting’.

Although there can be some variance in the logo, the shape and placement, is always the same.

It is a circle, with the top half noted by broken lines symbolising the radiation waves, with another full circle, or dot, in the middle and two leaves below it, symbolizing a plant.

The colour is always a shade of green, but this can vary from region to region, with the FDA version being a darker shade of green in the United States than the more bright, almost radioactive, shade that is used internationally.

Although the symbol is designed for international use and to be immediately recognised, it is not a mandatory symbol in many places and its usage depends not just on the regulation of the specific country or region, but can also be omitted due to public perception of what irradiation means.

What else can you do to make food safer?

As already stated, irradiation should only ever be applied following other GMP’s being conducted thoroughly.

It is one of many tools in the arsenal of a food safety practitioner that can be applied should they have the resources and inclination to do so.

Should they be constrained in these resources with time sinks or find they need assistance with other areas of their GMP’s, there are solutions that can help.

One of these solutions is ours, Safefood 360, which provides food manufacturers with comprehensives solutions for all things Food Safety and Supplier Quality Management.

With more than 35 modules covering everything from HACCP, Audits and Corrective Actions through to Monitoring production records and Supplier Pre-Assessments and yearly appraisals, we have everything you need to allow your team’s to focus on more value added activity.

Should you be interested in seeing how we can help your business, please click the button below and one of our team member’s will schedule a no obligation look at the system for you at a time of your convenience.