Thursday, 16 January 2014
Irradiation is a physical treatment where food is exposed to a defined dose of ionising radiation.
In the current global economy much of our food is consumed at a time and place far from where it was produced. To protect food and extend its shelf-life during transport and storage, food can be preserved by a variety of processes such as cooking, refrigeration, pasteurisation, salting, marinating, drying, smoking and irradiation. However, some of these processes can also have undesirable effects on the appearance, odour, texture or even flavour of certain foods and therefore, selection of a suitable preservation technique depends on parameters such as desired effect, possible negative impact, cost and even availability.
