Food producers say irradiation can save lives, but critics fear our children may pay the price. Peter Kammerer reports
Irradiation has long been used to sterilise medical supplies, has become an increasingly common tool in the food industry to destroy illness-causing bacteria and prolong shelf lives. But with the technology has come a vocal network of consumer groups, doctors and scientists worried that the process may harm health.
The debate has a sense of deja vu, coming amid discussion over the safety of genetically modified crops. A difference, though, is that irradiated food is more widely available - and is becoming increasingly so.
With irradiation, food is placed in a special processing chamber and exposed to a carefully measured level of intense ionising radiation, usually from cobalt-60 or through a process called linear acceleration.
The most commonly treated foods are uncooked meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables.
The process is highly specialised, and food companies often make use of established facilities, essentially small nuclear plants. The 160 signatory nations of the Codex Alimentarius' food standards guidelines are required to label irradiated foods with the radura symbol.