IDENTIFICATION OF IRRADIATED FOODSTUFFS - A REVIEW OF THE RECENT LITERATURE

This article's purpose primarily is to review the scientific literatur e on the development of analytical methods for the identification of i rradiated foods over the past decade. The main modalities currently be ing employed or developed (e.g. physical vs. chemical vs. biological) are introduced, and their advantages and disadvantages discussed. Radi ation/free radical chemistry and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectro scopy are presented in the most depth. Some recent food irradiation/ES R research from the authors' laboratories is included. Finally, it is hoped that this review will shed some light on the current status and prospects for food irradiation practices world-wide. (C) 1997 Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Scien ce Ltd.