What is irradiation and why is food irradiated?
Irradiation is a form of lowlevel radiation that reduces or eliminates microorganisms without cooking the food or causing the food to become radioactive. Food is irradiated to provide the same benefits as when it is processed by heat, refrigeration, freezing or treated with chemicals—to destroy insects, fungi or bacteria that cause food to spoil or cause human disease and to make it possible to keep food longer and in better condition in warehouses and homes.
