An overwhelming body of scientific data indicates that irradiated food is safe, nutritious, and wholesome. Health authorities worldwide, including leading national and international scientific organizations, have based their approvals of food irradiation on the results of sound scientific research.
Irradiation increases the safety profile and the availability of a variety of foods. The safety of food irradiation has been studied more extensively than that of any other food preservation process. As is true of other food processes, irradiation can lead to chemical changes in food.
Radiolytic products (compounds formed by radiation), are similar to compounds formed by heat treatment. None of these products, in the amounts found in irradiated foods, has been demonstrated to be toxic by any modern toxicological methods.
You can download our book Irradiated Foods (2007) Sixth Edition, revised and updated by Paisan Loaharanu, Adjunct Professor of Food Safety, Michigan State University, for free or read it below.
