Challenges and Opportunities for Food Irradiation in the 21st Century

Abstract

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1994, Dr. Philip R. Lee, US Assistant Secretary of Health, asserted, “Food irradiation, like pasteurization of milk, can prevent countless infections because it destroys the pathogens that cause foodborne illness. The technology of food irradiation has languished too long already.” A leading expert on the subject of food irradiation, Dennis Olson, concluded last year, “Irradiation of food can effectively reduce or eliminate pathogens and spoilage microorganisms while maintaining wholesomeness and sensory quality.” This paper will address opportunities for food irradiation in controlling foodborne disease and preserving quality in the world to come. It likewise will address the challenge represented by consumer acceptance and regulatory approval. Foodborne disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the globe. Hunger likewise is a constant companion to a significant number of the World’s peoples. Food irradiation can significantly ameliorate both these problems. The destruction of pathogenic microorganisms in food by gamma irradiation is obvious but providing more food is less obvious. Approximately one-third of the world’s food supply is either thrown out or allowed to spoil each day. Food irradiation can extend the shelf life of food by as much as twofold and thus would directly increase the availability. The principal challenge of food irradiation for the future is to achieve mass production status in highly visible situations. This can be done by large volume usage in Western countries or in selected developing countries. The need for this relates to consumer acceptance. As long as utilization is minimal and in circumscribed areas, food irradiation will continue to be viewed as a novelty and/or an experiment when in fact it has been around for over 90 years. Competition also can and would facilitate acceptance of the technology. In the US for many years, only one company was in the food irradiation business. This stymies innovation and entrepreneurship and continues to foster the public opinion that food irradiation is a specialty technique that is not applicable to a significant portion of the food supply. Finally a period of intense usage of food irradiation will doubtlessly result in fewer cases of food borne disease. These results will encourage wider employment of food irradiation and will serve to make the technology appealing to other nations. The future of food irradiation is filled with promise. Consumers of the next century likely will grow to appreciate the technology for the lifesaving modality that it is.