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Food preservation using ionizing radiation.

Irradiation processing has been researched extensively and is now in use worldwide for many food commodities. Irradiation has been successfully used to reduce pathogenic bacteria, eliminate parasites, decrease postharvest sprouting, and extend the shelf life of fresh perishable foods. Although food irradiation is widely accepted in world food markets, U.S. markets have been slower to accept the idea of irradiated food products. For fruits and vegetables, irradiation is not a cure for shelf life problems; cost and quality problems damage preclude its general use. It appears that the most likely use of irradiation in fruits and vegetables is as an insect control in those commodities for which there is no effective alternative method. For grains such as rice and wheat, irradiation has been used primarily to control insect infestation when insects have been shown to develop resistance to the traditional fumigation methods. Treatment of spices with irradiation doses of 10 kGy has proved to extend shelf life without causing significant changes in sensory or chemical quality. Higher doses that effectively sterilize spices, however, may cause undesirable chemical and sensorial changes. For meat, especially red meat, irradiation is considered a viable alternative in the effort to improve the safety of meat products. With time, the authors believe that economic realities and the technical superiority of irradiation for specific poultry products will lead to public acceptance of the process. Irradiation of seafood products is still being considered for approval by the USFDA, although it is currently used in Asian and European markets, especially for shrimp. It is our belief that scientifically based research in food irradiation and the positive results thereof will also prove economical in the twenty-first century. As we move to a more peaceful world with reduced threat of nuclear holocaust, these valid opinions will prevail and will overshadow the distortions and misinformation generated by the opponents of irradiation.

Animals↗

Antioxidant evaluation in dessert spices compared with common food additives. Influence of irradiation procedure.

The antioxidant properties of seven dessert spices (anise, cinnamon, ginger, licorice, mint, nutmeg, and vanilla) were compared with those of the common food antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) (E-320), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) (E-321), and propyl gallate (E-310). The influence of irradiation process on antioxidant activity was also evaluated. Mint and cinnamon exhibited a higher percentage of inhibition of oxidation than the other spices analyzed and the food antioxidants, as tested by the lipid peroxidation assay (LOO*). Nutmeg, anise, and licorice showed the strongest protection in the deoxyribose assay (OH*). Vanilla exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in the peroxidase-based assay (H2O2). Nutmeg, propyl gallate, ginger, and licorice improved the stability of oils (sunflower, corn, and olive) and fats (butter and margarine) against oxidation (110 degrees C Rancimat). Cinnamon was a better superoxide radical scavenger than the other analyzed spices and additives. When the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay was used to provide a ranking order of antioxidant activity, the result in decreasing order of antioxidant capacity was cinnamon approximately equal to propyl gallate > mint > anise > BHA > licorice approximately equal to vanilla > ginger > nutmeg > BHT. Irradiated samples did not show significant differences (p < 0.05) in the antioxidant activity with respect to the non-irradiated samples (1, 3, 5, and 10 kGy) in the assays used.

Antioxidants↗

Elimination of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in meats by gamma irradiation.

Undercooked and raw meat has been linked to outbreaks of hemorrhagic diarrhea due to the presence of Escherichia coli O157:H7; therefore, treatment with ionizing radiation was investigated as a potential method for the elimination of this organism. Response-surface methods were used to study the effects of irradiation dose (0 to 2.0 kGy), temperature (-20 to +20 degrees C), and atmosphere (air and vacuum) on E. coli O157:H7 in mechanically deboned chicken meat. Differences in irradiation dose and temperature significantly affected the results. Ninety percent of the viable E. coli in chicken meat was eliminated by doses of 0.27 kGy at +5 degrees C and 0.42 kGy at -5 degrees C. Small, but significant, differences in radiation resistance by E. coli were found when finely ground lean beef rather than chicken was the substrate. Unlike nonirradiated samples, no measurable verotoxin was found in finely ground lean beef which had been inoculated with 10(4.8) CFU of E. coli O157:H7 per g, irradiated at a minimum dose of 1.5 kGy, and temperature abused at 35 degrees C for 20 h. Irradiation is an effective method to control this food-borne pathogen.

Animals↗

On-line coupled liquid chromatography-gas chromatography (LC-GC) and LC-LC-GC for detecting irradiation of fat-containing foods.

On-line coupled liquid chromatography-gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection (LC-GC-FID) enables efficient and unambiguous determination of irradiation for some fat-containing foods (e.g. meat). Other products, however, contain interfering components or are contaminated, e.g., with mineral oil. Since more selective detection by mass spectrometry has limited success, the determination was improved by a more selective isolation of some key components among the fat degradation products, e.g. the dienes or trienes, by LC-LC-GC-FID. Applications are shown for soup mixes, some spices, fish, and shrimps.

Alkanes↗