European inter-comparison studies as a tool for perfecting irradiated food detection methods

In this paper, we present the results of inter-comparison studies on identification of irradiated food carried out by the leading European laboratories from 1991 to 2018. In 1990s, the Federal Institute for Health Protection of Consumers and Veterinary Medicine in Germany played the leading role in the organization of the inter-laboratory tests on this subject. At the beginning of the present century, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition and Food National Spanish Centre took over this role. In total, 47 international tests were carried out in which nearly 500 samples of alimentary products were analysed in 37 laboratories from 14 European countries. The tests were aimed at proving the reliability of analytical methods – thermoluminescence (TL), photostimulated luminescence (PSL), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy – for identification of specific irradiated food products and to control the analytical skills and experience of participating laboratories. The results made possible a discussion on why some irradiated food samples are more difficult for identification. In general, the tests showed that TL measurements of products such as herbs, nuts, peppers, and raisins, and EPR studies of fish and chicken bones, fresh strawberries, and dried fruits could be used as reliable control methods. The challenge that control laboratories are facing now, is related to the identification of complex food products such as diet supplements or biopharmaceuticals, in which only some additives are irradiated.

Prospects for the application of the electron paramagnetic resonance method for the identification and dose assessment of irradiated food products

Работа рассматривает мировой опыт по исследованию радиационно-обработанной пищевой продукции методом электронного парамагнитного резонанса (ЭПР). Работа проведена с целью оценки перспективности применения метода ЭПР-спектрометрии для идентификации радиационно-обработанной продукции при оценке качества продукции, поступаемой на продовольственный рынок. Метод ЭПР-спектрометрии заключается в идентификации и дозовой оценке радиационно-обработанной и необработанной продукции методом анализа ЭПР-спектров исследуемого образца. Рассмотрены ЭПР-спектры основных видов исследуемых продовольственных продуктов (мясная и рыбная продукция, свежие овощи и фрукты, специи, сухофрукты и орехи). Определены основные параметры ЭПР-спектра, являющиеся маркерами облучения продукции (амплитуда и ширина пика, отношение сигнал/шум, g-фактор). Выявлены основные факторы, влияющие на внешний вид ЭПР-спектра (доза облучения и время, прошедшее после облучения, плотность исследуемого продукта, его атомное и молекулярное строение, химический состав). По итогам проделанной работы планируется создание базы данных, включающей в себя сведения об облученной продукции, основных характеристиках ЭПР-спектров, библиографическую справку и др.

Application of Gamma Irradiation Technology in Preservation of Food: Prospects and Challenges

Since about over a quarter of the harvested food is lost due to different types of wastage and spoilage, preservation of food is no less important than production of food. Gamma irradiation technology is one of the most appropriate and prominent technologies that can be applied in preservation of food. Gamma area science, also restrict the spoilage and wastage of castrate various maintain security of benefits gamma irradiation high power of, effortlessly, less it is and economically absence awareness, education socialisation the utilisation of gamma irradiation, there are still several societies, which think that gamma irradiation technology is hazardous and its radiation damages the proteins and genes. In fact, preservation of food using nuclear irradiation has been tested, researched and inspected and presently marketable practice in different nations. Gamma irradiation technology is still required to be advanced and it is encouraged so that it can be applied extensively through the regulation that is decided by the administrations to enhance the information of peoples about the advantage of nuclear irradiation power. It is also be considered that irradiated food and foodstuffs and the research outputs of the technology must be socialised, advertised, and published in a variability of advertising mode both in public community and scientific society, so that irradiated food and foodstuffs can be documented and recognised by various communities.

Dose-Dependent Differentiation of Gamma-Irradiated Hazelnut Samples by Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometrics

Gamma irradiation is used as a food preservation method. It is known that high-dose irradiation causes several structural and functional damages. Therefore, the detection of high-dose irradiated food samples is a critical issue in international trade. The objective of this work is to evaluate the potential of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the differentiation of γ-irradiated hazelnuts at higher doses (3 kGy and 10 kGy) from the lower (1.5 kGy) and nonirradiated ones using multivariate statistical analysis, namely, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). This study showed that high-dose irradiated hazelnut samples can be clearly differentiated from the low-dose irradiated samples using unsupervised methods based on the spectral differences. Furthermore, dose-dependent discrimination was also achieved. In conclusion, FTIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate statistical analysis has potential for the development of a reliable and fast methodology for separation of high-dose irradiated food samples.