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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359706
Research Project: Integration of Multiple Interventions to Enhance Microbial Safety, Quality, and Shelf-life of Foods

Location: Microbial and Chemical Food Safety

Title: Gamma ray, electron beam, and x-ray irradiation for food safety

Author
item Fan, Xuetong
item Niemira, Brendan

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2019
Publication Date: 7/24/2020
Citation: Fan, X., Niemira, B.A. 2020. Gamma ray, electron beam, and x-ray irradiation for food safety. Book Chapter. In: Demirci, A., Hao, F., Krishnamurthy, K. (eds.) Food Safety Engineering (pp.471-492).Springer, Cham, Switzerland

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Ionizing irradiation is a non-thermal processing technology that can be used to improve microbial safety and reduce food loss. This chapter reviews the current status of food irradiation technology. Topics covered include comparison of three types of radiation (gamma ray, electron beam and X-ray) in terms of advantages and disadvantages, dose unit and dosimetry, irradiation facilities, optimization to achieve desirable benefits, interaction of radiation with food components, mechanisms for microbial inactivation, factors affecting irradiation efficacy of inactivating human pathogens, impact on product quality, and labeling and consumer acceptance of irradiated foods.