What is food irradiation?

Food irradiation (exposure with gamma rays, electrons or X-rays) is a procedure to destroy parasites, pests and bacteria to extend the shelf life of food.

Food irradiation has been used to treat food since more than 50 years and it is a good alternative to chemical treatment.

How to check if the food samples have been irradiated?

Mineral debris, typically silicates or bioinorganic materials such as calcite which originate from shells or exoskeletons, or hydroxyapatite from bones or teeth, can be found on most foods. These materials store energy in charge carriers trapped at structural, interstitial or impurity sites, when exposed to ionising radiation. Excitation spectroscopy has shown that optical stimulation of minerals releases charge carriers. It has subsequently been shown that the same spectra can be obtained from whole herb and spice samples and other foods using photostimulation. PSL measurements do not destroy the sample, therefore whole samples, or other mixtures of organic and inorganic material, can be measured repeatedly. PSL signals, however, decrease if the same sample is measured repeatedly.

 

PSLfood - PSL reader for checking irradiated food
Spices & herbs which can be checked in the PSL reader

Food authorised for Irradiation in the European Union:

  • Fruit and vegetables including root vegetables
  • Cereals, cereal flakes, rice flour
  • Spices, condiments
  • Fish, shellfish
  • Fresh meats, poultry, frog legs
  • Raw milk camembert
  • Gum arabic, casein/caseinates, egg white
  • Blood products

 

National permission could be different to the EU authorisation.


PSLfood

manual OSL reader for checking food samples

Pulsed PSL system for checking irradiated food samples
PSLfood - detection system for irradiated food

Compact and user-friendly

 

PSLfood is our PSL System (OSL Reader) for checking irradiated food according to EN 13751:2009 (Detection of irradiated food using photo stimulated luminescence). Compact design and smart software combine easy operation and excellent performance.

 

The PSLfood drawer is designed for a common petri dish with dimensions of 50 mm in diameter & 20 mm height.

 

Its small dimensions and weight require very little desktop space and allow using the PSLfood as portable system.

 

The drawer tray and the protection glass can be easily removed for cleaning.

  

Download
PSL for checking irradiated food according to EN 13751:2009
PSLfood.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Document 273.8 KB

Xray Dose

x-ray irradiator for Food samples

irradiation of food samples for EN1788
XrayDose

Perfect accessories for checking irradiated food with our PSLfood or TLDcube.

 

XrayDose is an irradiator to expose food samples which are kept in petri dishes (50mm in Diameter) or small cups.

The dose can be modified with a filter which can be easly removed or replaced. 

 

The Xray Dose is equipped with a touch display for autonomos operation.

X-ray tube: 50kV        
Current adjustable: 0.1 to 1.0mA         
Dose rate:                                  >0.03 Gy/s up to >4.5Gy/s
Download
Xray Dose.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Document 319.9 KB