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Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation, energy that is transmitted to the food without direct contact capable of stripping electrons from the food.〔anon., Food Irradiation – A technique for preserving and improving the safety of food, WHO, Geneva, 1991〕 This treatment is used to preserve food, reduce the risk of food borne illness, prevent the spread of invasive pests, and delay or eliminate sprouting or ripening. The radiation can be emitted by a radioactive substance or generated electrically. Irradiated food does not become radioactive. Food irradiation is permitted by over 60 countries, with about 500,000 metric tons of food annually processed worldwide. Irradiation is also used for non-food applications, such as medical devices.〔 Although there have been concerns about the safety of irradiated food, a large amount of independent research has confirmed it to be safe.〔〔〔〔〔 One family of chemicals is uniquely formed by irradiation, and this product is nontoxic. When heating food, all other chemicals occur in a lower or comparable frequency.〔〔〔anon., Safety and nutritional adequacy of irradiated food, WHO, Geneva, 1994〕〔anon., Scientific Opinion on the Chemical Safety of Irradiation of Food, EFSA Journal 2011;9(4):1930 (pp. ). doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2011.1930 last visited March 3, 2013〕 Others criticize irradiation because of confusion with radioactive contamination or because of negative impressions of the nuclear industry. The regulations that dictate how food is to be irradiated, as well as the food allowed to be irradiated, vary greatly from country to country. In Austria, Germany, and many other countries of the European Union only dried herbs, spices, and seasonings can be processed with irradiation and only at a specific dose, while in Brazil all foods are allowed at any dose.〔Food irradiation, Position of ADA, J Am Diet Assoc. 2000;100:246-253. http://www.mindfully.org/Food/Irradiation-Position-ADA.htm retrieved November 15, 2007〕〔C.M. Deeley, M. Gao, R. Hunter, D.A.E. Ehlermann, The development of food irradiation in the Asia Pacific, the Americas and Europe; tutorial presented to the International Meeting on Radiation Processing, Kuala Lumpur, 2006. http://wayback.archive.org/web/20110726172416/http://www.iiaglobal.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=488&cntnt01detailtemplate=resourceCenter-publication-detail-template&cntnt01returnid=231&hl=en_US last visited February 18, 2010〕〔Kume, T. et al., Status of food irradiation in the world, Radiat.Phys.Chem. 78(2009), 222-226〕〔Farkas, J. et al., History and future of food irradiation, Trends Food Sci. Technol. 22 (2011), 121-126〕 ==Uses== Irradiation is used to reduce the pathogens in foods. Depending on the dose, some or all of the microorganisms, bacteria, and viruses present are destroyed, slowed down, or rendered incapable of reproduction. This reduces or eliminates the risk of food borne illnesses. Some foods are irradiated at sufficient doses to ensure that the product is sterilized and does not add any spoilage or pathogenic microorganisms into the final product.〔 Irradiation is used to delay the ripening of fruits and the sprouting of vegetables by slowing down the speed at which enzymes produced by the food can change the food. By halting or slowing down spoilage and slowing down the ripening of food, irradiation prolongs the shelf life of goods. Irradiation cannot revert spoiled or over ripened food to a fresh state. If this food was processed by irradiation, spoilage would cease and ripening would slow down, yet the irradiation would not destroy the toxins or repair the texture, color, or taste of the food.〔 Insect pests are sterilized using irradiation at relatively low doses of irradiation. This stops the spread of foreign invasive species across national boundaries, and allows foods to pass quickly through quarantine and avoid spoilage.〔Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, IAEA, International Database on Insect Disinfestation and Sterilization – IDIDAS – http://www-ididas.iaea.org/IDIDAS/default.htm last visited November 16, 2007〕 Depending on the dose, some or all of the insects present are destroyed, or rendered incapable of reproduction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Food irradiation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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