Transcript 41294.1257769520.10-51-61

By Raven Woods
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It is the process of exposing food ionizing
radiation to kill microorganisms, bacteria,
viruses, and insects that would be in the food.
A bulk of food is passed through a radiation
camber on a conveyor belt.
 Radioactive material dose not come in contact
of the food. Just a beam passes through it.
 The type of food and the purpose of irradiation
determine the amount of radiation nesscessry
for the process.
 The speed of the conveyor belt also helps the
process by controlling the time the food is
exposed to the radiation.
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One of the sources is a Cobalt 60 Gamma. The
Cobalt-60 emits ionizing radiation in the form
of intense gamma rays. They are store in
stainless steel capsules that are stored
underwater tanks.
Cobalt has couple of advantages it has up to
95% of its emitted energy is available for use,
penetrates deeply, yields substantial
uniformity of the dose in the food product,
turn to non-radioactive nickel after use.
5.3-year half-life offers
disadvantages:
 Cobalt -60 require
frequent
replenishment.
 The food process is
kind of slow.
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Electron Beam Generators
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Electron beam facilities generate e-beams
with an electron beam linear accelerator. The
electrons are concentrated and accelerated
to 99% of the speed of light.
Because e-beams are generated electrically,
they offer certain advantages: they can be
turned on only as needed, they do not require
replenishment of the source as does cobalt60, and there is no radioactive waste.
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E-beam technology also
has disadvantages:
shallow depth of
penetration, e-beams
must be converted to xrays, high electric power
consumption complexity,
and potentially high
maintenance.
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Uses electron beam accelerator to target
electrons on a metal plate.
Some energy is absorbed, and the rest is
converted to X-rays. Like gamma rays, X-rays
are penetrating, and can be used on food
boxes 15 inches thick or more.
Which allows food to be shipped in an
container.
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X-rays offer the
advantage of high
penetration, but share
the other e-beam
technology
disadvantages.
Layout of a normal X-ray facility for food
irradiation
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The radiation limit to food is 10kilogreys. The
FDA sets limitation for different food.
Fruit: 1kilogrey
Poultry: 3kilogrey
Spices and seasoning: 30kilogreys
The radiation limit is higher for spices and
seasonings because they are consumed in
very small amounts.
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None of the radiation is retain in the food. So,
no it does not make food radioactive.
The food is just hit with gamma, x-ray or
electrons beams to kill many types of food
poisoning microorganisms.
This symbol shows that the food has
been through radiation. That it is safe
to eat.
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An organization called Organic Consumers
Association is fighting to have food
irradiation stopped.
Here’s what they say:” Irradiated fruits and
vegetables benefit the packer and grocer, not the
farmer or consumer. The consumer receives an
inferior product that appears fresh, but has depleted
vitamins and enzymes.”
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The problem is that food irradiation damages
the food by breaking up molecules and
creating free radicals.
Those free radicals kills some bacteria but it
also damages the vitamins and enzymes, and
combine with existing chemicals (like
pesticides) in the food to form new
chemicals.
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So basically food irradiation is very helpful
but it does have some bad aspects to it as
well.
Like it takes out some of the nutrients that
we need in our bodies.
But it kills the bacteria that can harm us too.
Everything has good and bad aspects to it.
But to me I think Food Irradiation is a good
thing to use on food to keep us safe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_irradiation
http://www.eufic.org/page/en/faqid/foodirradiation/
 http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q
=what+is+food+irradiation&btnG=Google+Se
arch&aq=f&aqi=&oq=&fp=b03f3b2a1b73400
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 http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/sources/food_i
rrad.html
 http://www.organicconsumers.org/irrad/irradf
act.cfm
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