Radiation meets food James S. Dickson Itâs no secret that some people are wary of irradiated food. But radiation levels that effectively control pathogens have no demonstrated harmful effects on humans. Jim Dickson (jdickson@iastate.edu) is a professor in the department of animal science at Iowa State University in Ames. he purpose of irradiating food is, quite simply, to improve quality. Illuminating a food with ionizing radiation can rid it of harmful pathogens and can also make it more aesthetically appealing. The essence of the process is that radiation disrupts a cellâs chromosomal DNA; if the cell is unable to repair that lesion, it dies. The food may be exposed to high-energy photonsâ gamma rays or x raysâor high-energy electrons. Radioactive isotopes such as cobalt-60 and cesium-137 produce gamma rays with suitable energies, but you need accelerators to generate the electron and x-ray beams used for food irradiation. Electron beams are produced by devices such as Van de Graaff generators and linear accelerators; x rays result when high-energy electrons produced by linear accelerators collide with a metal target. In principle, high-energy electrons, x rays, and gamma rays can instigate nuclear excitations that yield radioactive byproducts. However, the energies approved
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Radiation meets food
Dickson, James S.
Follow Physics Today
, Volume 65 (2)
American Institute of Physics – Feb 1, 2012
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