What is sterilization by radiation?
Radiation kills germs that can cause disease and neutralizes other harmful organisms. Sterilization with ionizing radiation inactivates microorganisms very efficiently and, when used for product wrapping, ensures that healthcare products are safe and can be relied upon.
How does radiation sterilize food?
Food irradiation involves the use of either high-speed electron beams or high-energy radiation with wavelengths smaller than 200 nanometres, or 2000 angstroms (e.g., X-rays and gamma rays). These rays contain sufficient energy to break chemical bonds and ionize molecules that lie in their path.…
What radiation is used in food irradiation?
gamma rays
Radiation for the treatment of food is achieved through the application of gamma rays (with Co-60 or Cesium-137 radioisotope), electron beams (high energy of up to 10 MeV), or X-rays (high energy of up to 5 MeV). Radiation principles explain how the gamma rays, e-beams and X-rays interact with matter.
What is sterilization used for?
Sterilization destroys all microorganisms on the surface of an article or in a fluid to prevent disease transmission associated with the use of that item.
What are the types of radiation sterilization?
There are 2 general types of radiation used for sterilization, ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is the use of short wavelength, high-intensity radiation to destroy microorganisms. This radiation can come in the form of gamma or X-rays that react with DNA resulting in a damaged cell.
How do you sterilize food?
Sterilization prior to filling in the container, as accomplished in aseptic processing, requires relatively short heating periods. This sterilization process is usually accomplished by heating the product rapidly to 130–145 °C, holding for an appropriate time, then rapidly cooling the product.
What types of radiation are sterilizing?
Gamma radiation sterilization is the most popular form of radiation sterilization. [1,4] Co-60 and, to a lesser extent, Cs-137 serve as radiation sources and undergo decomposition to release high energy gamma rays. The produced electromagnetic radiation is highly penetrating and can kill contaminating microorganisms.
What is the purpose of sterilization in food processing?
The process destroys yeasts, molds, vegetative bacteria, and spore formers, and allows the food processor to store and distribute the products at ambient temperatures, thus extending the shelf-life. Sterilization procedures involve the use of heat, radiation, or chemicals, or physical removal of cells.
What is irradiation sterilization?
Irradiation sterilization Irradiation sterilization is a kind of nuclear technology that uses the physical, chemical and biological effects produced by the interaction between ionizing radiation and substances to sterilize materials and materials. Classification of food irradiation equipment
What is the radiation energy used for food irradiation?
In order to ensure the safety of food irradiation, the radiation energy used for food irradiation is limited: the energy of electron beam of accelerator is not more than 10 MeV; the energy of X-ray is not more than 5 MeV; the gamma radiation source is cobalt-60 and cesium-137.
Is there any radiation in the packaging of food?
Therefore, the use of these packaging materials is subject to regulatory review and approval prior to their use. Radiation for the treatment of food is achieved through the application of gamma rays (with Co-60 or Cesium-137 radioisotope), electron beams (high energy of up to 10 MeV), or X-rays (high energy of up to 5 MeV).