IAEA-TECDOC-639 Irradiation of spices, herbs and other vegetable seasonings A compilation of technical data for its authorization and control International Consultative Group
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IRRADIATION OF SPICES, HERBS AND OTHER VEGETABLE SEASONINGS IAEA, VIENNA, 1992 laea-tecdoc-639 ISSN 1011-4289 Printed by the IAEA in Austria February 1992
FOREWORD
It
CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION... 7 2. SCOPE AND PURPOSE... 8 3. JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROCESS... 11 3.1. Alternative methods
2. SCOPE
Contamination Table 1
contamination (Grünewald, 1984; Saint-Lèbe et. al., 1985).
The health- and/or spoilage-hazards presented by a food ingredient must
agent, fumigation is a time-consuming batch procedure, it appears to be beset with problems concerning
Radiation decontamination is a technically feasible, economically viable and safe physical process. It is a well controllable technology, requires no additives
Gamma rays and X-rays are the same type of electromagnetic radiation. There are, however, differences between "Bremsstrahlung" and gamma radiation, which influence their utility; in contrast with the discrete energy levels of gamma rays from isotopic sources
guideline document regarding the licensing of food irradiation facilities is in draft (ICGFI, 1988b). Irradiation facilities provide
3.3. Recommended Dose Ranges Depending on the number and type of microorganisms, and the chemical composition of the commodity, a radiation dose of up to 2O kgy may be required to achieve commercial "sterility" (i.e. a total viable cell count of less than 1O per gram) in natural spices and herbs; however, doses of 3 to 1O kgy can reduce the viable cell counts to an acceptable level (from 1O 7 4
required to produce organoleptic changes in spices and herbs detectable by sensory panels
Experiments have demonstrated packaging and storage conditions to affect the quality of spices more than radiation treatment. The antioxidant properties of some spices remained unaltered by the radiation decontamination treatment (Ito
useful
developing countries (Ito
no labelling of "second generation irradiated food" in the USA, to labelling of
Attempts in this direction have already been made using multivariate statistics with irradiated and unirradiated constituents separated by high power liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Takagi e_t al., 1988). In another study, multiple regression analysis has been performed for spectral data acquired at three different wavelengths by near infrared spectroscopy of irradiated and unirradiated pepper, which were related to applied dose levels.
(Heide arid Bögl, 1984; 1985). Thermoluminescence
Due to a very large reduction of viable cell counts by irradiation of spices, the combined use of the direct epifluorescent filter technique (DEFT)
3.8. Dosimetry
Commission,
throughout the carrier, ensuring measurements at the points of minimum
In addition to the labelling requirements described in Chapter 3.6, the documentation kept by the irradiation plant shall be such as to allow each batch of irradiated product to be identified with the irradiation facility and with the treatment given. Coupled with an administrative inventory control, dosimetry can provide a guarantee that the process
A Proposed Draft Guide
radicals
and to mutagenic effects in a dominant lethal assay (Renner and Reichert, 1973; Renner e_t al., 1973; Saint-Lèbe t al., 1982). Radiation chemistry studies relevant to wholesomeness of dry vegetable ingredients demonstrated that none of the radiolytic products was present in sufficient amount to be toxic, and that all of them could also
spice would produce underweight animals
mutagenic activity using the Salmonella/mammalian microsome mutagenicity assay,
List Table 3
Table 3 (cont.) Country Product Sort HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA
Table
6. RECOMMENDATIONS ON CONTROL AND REGULATORY PROVISIONS assure Industry should have the primary responsibility and obligation to
dosimeters
Anon., 1977a: Manual REFERENCES
Bahari,!., Ishak,S-, Ayub,M.K. 1988:
Delincée,H. 1987:
Farkas,J., Andrâssy,E. 1982: Investigations on the possible genotoxic effects
Gerhardt,U., Ladd Effio,J.C. 1983: Rückstandverhalten von othylenoxid in Gewürzen. Fleischwirtschaft,
ICGFI, 1991: Regulations
Laidley,R., Handzel,S., Severs,B., Butler,R. 1974: Salmonella outbreak associated with contaminated pepper. Epidemiol.Bull. (Dept. Natl. Health Welfare, Ottawa) 18(4):
Persson,L. 1988: Warning against unirradiated spices! (in Swedish). Läkartidningen, 85: 2641. Pfeiffer,E.H., Dunkelberg,H. 1981: Mutagenicity of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide
Suzuki,T., Yasumoto,K., Hayashi,T., Chow,R.K., Tajima,M. 1988: Dosimetric application
BIBLIOGRAPHY ICGFI Publications Relating to Good Practices in the Control
Publications relating to Food Irradiation issued under