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The Effects Of Food Irradiation Practices On The United States From World War II

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Overview of the history of food irradiation practices in the United States from World War II era to the end of the 20th century, and speculation about its future commercial prospects. Researchers in the United States and Great Britain filed patents in 1905 for using ionizing radiation to kill food-borne bacteria (Spiller, J. (2004)). Therefore, food irradiation has over 100 years of history.
Food irradiation (the application of ionizing radiation to food) is a technology that improves the safety and extends the shelf life of foods by reducing or eliminating microorganisms and insects (“U.S. Food and Drug Administration” 1). If food is not irradiated correctly, there may potentially be health hazards.

The process where food is exposed from nuclear sources consists of food irradiation, which is limited to high-energy gamma rays, X-rays and accelerated electrons. Ionizing is source of radiation because of the high-energy free electrons from atoms and molecules. The electrically charged particles are converted to ions. Microwaves are example of gamma rays. Accelerated electrons can transfuse to treat the food only to a depth of three centimeters. Due to thickness of x-rays may pass through the food.

Radiation dose is the quantity of radiation energy bored by the food as it passes through the radiation field during processing. Needless to say the radiation for

poultry and meat were approximately 800-1400 times that dose, of fruits and vegetables. A radiation dose of about

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