FORMATION OF HYDROCARBONS IN IRRADIATED BRAZILIAN BEANS - GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS TO DETECT RADIATION PROCESSING

Radiation processing of beans, which are a major source of dietary pro tein in Brazil, is a valuable alternative to chemical fumigation to co mbat postharvest losses due to insect infestation. To ensure free cons umer choice, irradiated food will be labeled as such, and to enforce l abeling, analytical methods to detect the irradiation treatment in the food product itself are desirable. In two varieties of Brazilian bean s, Carioca and Macacar beans, the radiolytic formation of hydrocarbons formed after alpha and beta cleavage, with regard to the carbonyl gro up in triglycerides, have been studied. Using gas chromatographic anal ysis of these radiolytic hydrocarbons, different yields per precursor fatty acid are observed for the two types of beans. However, the typic al degradation pattern allows the identification of the irradiation tr eatment in both bean varieties, even after 6 months of storage.