Infeasibility of Irradiating Fresh Fruits and Vegetables1

Abstract

Abstract Since World War II, the news media have occasionally carried stories claiming unusually long shelf lives for irradiated fruits and vegetables, often at room temperature. The biochemistry and physiology of senescence make these claims biologically absurd. True, an uncritical review of the “scientific” literature prior to 1964 might have led one to believe that irradiation had a commercial potential for a wide variety of commodities. Many studies were of questionable validity, however. Products were sealed in airtight containers, physiological state (maturity) was ignored, quality evaluation was ignored or at best subjective, sample size was inadequate for statistical treatment, dosimetry was not reliably determined, geometry of radiation distribution into the product seemed highly variable, pathological studies were not quantitative, and often not even qualitative, and experiments were stationary, precluding exposure of the commodity to the injury associated with transport and marketing. Our studies, in contrast, covering 15 years and designed to avoid these criticisms, have led us to conclude that irradiation has technical promise for but few commodities‐‐and that economic feasibility reduces possible application even further.