Food Irradiation

Step 1: During class we talked about food irradiation. We were assigned in partners to research about the cons and pros of food irradiation. Monica, Teodora and I were researching about the pros, Roy and Aleksaj were researching about the cons of food irradiation. 


Step 2: Irradiation is the process of treating food and other consumer products with gamma rays, x-rays, or high voltage electrons to kill potential harmful bacteria and parasites, delay sprouting, and increase shelf life. Irradiation is also referred to ass "ionizing radiation" because it produces energy waves strong enough to dislodge electrons from atoms and molecules, thereby converting them to electrically charged particles called ions.  Ionizing radiation reduces the number of disease causing organisms in foods by disrupting their molecular structure and killing them.  Other terms commonly used to identify ionizing irradiation are "cold pasteurization" and "irradiation pasteurization".
Food irradiation makes food safer to eat, and also could stay fresh for longer, but it can kill many healthy vitamins, like vitamins A, B-1, E and C, that are useful in the daily life, but also cooking the food can kill those vitamins. As well the once that are harmful to human. 


Step 3: 

Pros: 

• Irradiation can kill or substantially reduce the number of potentially dangerous organisms in foods.  Estimates range for 90 to 99.9%.
• Irradiation can kill insects and pests infesting foods such as grains and flours without leaving chemical residues.
• Irradiation can be used to sterilize food for immune-compromised individuals such as AIDS 

Cons:

• Irradiation at recommended doses will not eradicate all pathogens. The remaining organisms are by definition "radiation resistant" and may create super strains of hard-to-kill pathogens.
• Irradiation at current allowable levels is ineffective against viruses such as the Norwalk virus found in seafood.
• Irradiation can only be used on a limited number of foods.  Fresh produce such as lettuce, grapes, tomatoes, and cucumbers turn mushy and unpalatable.  Thus, the risk from contaminated fresh produce, a major carrier of food borne disease, cannot be fully addressed by irradiation.

Step 4: You see two containers of a food at the supermarket.  One is irradiated; one is not.  The price is the same.  Which would you buy?  Explain why. 

I think if I always had the choice to pick between natural and not natural food, I would always pick natural. I would chose that food because its the same price but natural food is healthier since it has the vitamins, but irradiated food kills most of those vitamins that would be healthy for human.