How has the safety of radiation processed food been tested ?
The safety of radiation processed food has been ascertained using an internationally accepted wholesomeness testing protocol. The investigations include checking for induced radioactivity, monitoring changes in microflora, presence of any of mutant forms of microbes; assessing nutritional adequacy of irradiated foods by studying proximate analysis, vitamin losses, study of amino acids, protein efficiency ratio and in vitro digestibility; studying the chemical constituents of irradiated foods to rule out the possibility of any toxic compounds; and finally the multi-generation feeding studies lasting for 3-4 generations in at least two mammalian species. One third of the animals are studied in detail for vital characteristics such as growth, reproduction, hematology, longevity, histopathology, presence of cancer and mutations. Many animal feeding studies have been carried out with radiation processed foods. One of the most notable was a six year animal feeding study with high-dose irradi
