Irradiation is the process of exposing fresh food to low amount of x-rays to sterilize and prolong its life. Irradiation can kill microorganisms, insects and parasites and this is a fundamental reason for applying the technology to improve the safety and quality of many food and food products. Food suppliers say that irradiated food is safe and does not make foods radioactive. More than 100 years of research that have gone into accepting of the safe and successful use of irradiation as a food safety method is more than any technology used in the industry today.

1. Report of seminar
On
“STUDY OF FOOD IRRADIATION.”
By
Ms. Mitali Vijay Somvanshi
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for
Degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical),
Of
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Marathwada Institute of Technology, Aurangabad.
Academic Year 2017-2018
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2. Food Irradiation Facility :-
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Food irradiation is permitted by over 60 countries, with about 500,000 metric tons of
food annually processed worldwide.
In India :-
 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai:-
- Capacity:- 500 kg of onion and potato per hour.
 Radiation processing plant at vashi,Navi Mumbai :-
- Capacity:- 30 tonnes of onion and pet food per day.
 KRUSHK( Krushi Utpadan Sanrakshan Kendra) at Lasalgaon :-
- Capacity:- 10 tonnes of onion per hr.

3. INTRODUCTION :-
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 Irradiation is the process of exposing fresh food to low amount of gamma-rays or x-
rays to sterilize and prolong its life.
 It carries enough energy to free electrons from atoms or molecules, thereby ionizing
them.
 Irradiation can kill microorganisms, insects and parasites
WHY TO IRRADIATE FOOD:-
 To preserve food
 Reduce the risk of food borne illness
 Prevent the spread of invasive pests
 Delay or eliminate sprouting or ripening.

4. Types of Radiation and Their Sources [2]:-
 Non-Ionizing radiation:-
- Non-ionizing radiation has less energy than ionizing radiation; it
does not possess enough energy to produce ions.
- Examples:- Visible light, Infrared, Radio waves,
Microwaves, and Sunlight
 Ionizing radiation:-
There are several types of ionizing radiation:- Alpha radiation
Beta radiation
Photon radiation
Neutron radiation
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5.  Ionising radiation sources:-
According to the Codex General Standard for Irradiated Foods, ionising radiations
recommended for use in food processing are:-
Gamma rays produced from radioisotopes cobalt-60 and cesium-137
- Cobalt-60 is produced in a nuclear reactor via neutron bombardment of highly refined
cobalt-59 (59-Co) pellets, while cesium-137 is produced as a result of uranium fission.
- Both cobalt-60 and cesium-137 emit highly penetrating gamma rays that can be used to
treat food in bulk or in its final packaging.
Electron beams and X-ray generated from machine sources
- A major advantage of machine-sourced ionising radiation is that no radioactive substance
is involved in the whole processing system.
- Powered by electricity
- Suitable only for foods of relatively shallow depth.
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6. Food Irradiation Setup [4]:-
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6Figure No 4.1: Working setup of food irradiation plant

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1 2
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Low Dose Irradiation:-

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High Dose Irradiation:-

10. Types of Irradiators [4]:-
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Fig No 6.1.2: Source overlap irradiatorFig No 6.1.1: Product overlap irradiator

11. Application of Food Irradiation:-
- Control of sprouting and germination.
- Shelf-life extension of perishable foods.
- Delaying ripening and aging of fruits and vegetables.
- Destruction of parasites.
- Control of foodborne diseases
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12. - Irradiation costs may range from Rs.0.25 to 0.50 / kg for a low dose application
such as sprout inhibition of potato and onion.
- Insect disinfestation in cereals and pulses to Rs.1-3/kg for high dose
applications such as treatment of spices for microbial decontamination
Cost of Irradiated Food:-
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13. Advantages
1) Irradiation leaves no radioactivity or toxic residues on the treated product.
2) Irradiation is an efficient, continuous, automated process requiring less treatment time.
3) Irradiation will not contaminate the environment while chemical vapour from fumigation will.
4) Irradiation delivers a superior product to the consumer because the efficacy of the process permits the
fruit to be picked at the optimal ripeness.
Disadvantages
1) It reduces small amount content of several key nutrients.
2) It is ineffective against viruses.
3) Capital cost is more.
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14. Fig No 6.2: Radura Symbol
Identification of food irradiated products [4]:-
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15. Future aspects:-
Public and fumigation workers, and pollute the environment. Ionizing radiation, such as Co-60,
Cs-137 or electron beams, can be a safe and efficacious substitute to chemical fumigation for
the two applications indicated, which have already been approved by a number of countries.
It is expected that more countries will soon adopt similar regulations in the interest of public
health, food safety and high quality products. Minimizing food losses and increasing
international food trade through the application of irradiation should help improve the economy
of every country. The process should help save some of the estimated25 to 30% of the world's
food supply which is lost each year because of pests and spoilage
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16. Conclusion:-
Gamma rays and X-rays are short wavelength radiations of the electromagnetic
spectrum. Gamma rays are emitted by radioisotopes such as Cobalt-60 and
Caesium-137 while electrons and X-rays are generated by gaseous discharge
using electricity. Gamma rays are a part of the electromagnetic spectrum. They
can penetrate deep into food materials and bring about desired effects. So it
brings desire purpose of food irradiation for life improvement.
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17. References:-
1) B. Chinsman, W.M.Urbain, Ronald E. Engel, Dr J. Farkas, Dr Y. Henon ,“A technique for
preserving and improving the safety of food”-World Health Organization in collaboration with
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (1988) 20-38
2) Shishir Sinha, Food preservation by irradiation, module 19, Lec-19, 1-12
3) Kevin M. Keener, Department of food science food irradiation, NCSU
4) Kishor Mehta, Andrzej G. Chmielewski “Gamma irradiators for radiation processing”-
International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna, Austria, 22-27
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Thank You!