TY - JOUR
T1 - Food safety through food irradiation
T2 - Should it be adopted more by the EU?
AU - Nayga, Rodolfo M.
PY - 2003
Y1 - 2003
N2 - Food Irradiation is a food safety technology that can eliminate disease-causing germs from foods. Like pasteurization of milk, treating food with ionizing radiation can kill bacteria that would otherwise cause foodborne disease. Foodborne illnesses are ever present and have serious health and economic consequences. In the US, food irradiation is approved for use in various foods. The number of supermarkets and restaurants in the US that offer irradiated products has increased dramatically in the last three years. Preliminary economic experiments in the US suggest that consumer willingness to pay for irradiated ground beef is substantially greater than the additional costs associated with irradiation. The use of food irradiation as a food safety tool that could complement rigorous food safety programmes is rather limited in Europe. So far, the list of products authorized for irradiation within the whole EU contains only a single food category: dried aromatic herbs, spices, and vegetable seasonings. With increasing demand by regulatory authorities on food safety from 'farm to fork' and the globalization of food trade, EU producers and consumers may benefit from wider adoption of irradiation of food products.
AB - Food Irradiation is a food safety technology that can eliminate disease-causing germs from foods. Like pasteurization of milk, treating food with ionizing radiation can kill bacteria that would otherwise cause foodborne disease. Foodborne illnesses are ever present and have serious health and economic consequences. In the US, food irradiation is approved for use in various foods. The number of supermarkets and restaurants in the US that offer irradiated products has increased dramatically in the last three years. Preliminary economic experiments in the US suggest that consumer willingness to pay for irradiated ground beef is substantially greater than the additional costs associated with irradiation. The use of food irradiation as a food safety tool that could complement rigorous food safety programmes is rather limited in Europe. So far, the list of products authorized for irradiation within the whole EU contains only a single food category: dried aromatic herbs, spices, and vegetable seasonings. With increasing demand by regulatory authorities on food safety from 'farm to fork' and the globalization of food trade, EU producers and consumers may benefit from wider adoption of irradiation of food products.
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1746-692X.2003.tb00061.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1746-692X.2003.tb00061.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:1542380412
SN - 1478-0917
VL - 2
SP - 36
EP - 39
JO - EuroChoices
JF - EuroChoices
IS - 3
ER -