Irradiation: a critical control point in ensuring the microbiological safety of raw foods

The widespread and increasing incidence of foodborne diseases and the resul tant social and economic impact on the human population have brought food s afety to the forefront of public health concerns. This has prompted public health authorities worldwide to reassess their methods of food safety assur ance, and to resort to a more cost-effective, preventive method that is kno wn as hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP). Ensuring food saf ety depends on effective control measures, i.e., methods to prevent food co ntamination and, when necessary, decontamination. Present production method s cannot totally prevent food contamination, and the complexity of food han dling and processing provides ample opportunity for contamination as well a s survival and growth of pathogenic organisms. It is also unlikely that the methods of production can ensure foods totally free from in the near futur e, for many pathogens are part of the normal flora of the environment. The application of an HACCP-based approach as a method for the management of ha zards of the food chain demonstrates the need for applying a cold decontami nation treatment as a control measure in the production of foods which are to be marketed raw or minimally processed. Irradiation (increasingly referr ed to as "cold pasteurization") is such a control measure in the production of several types of raw or minimally processed foods such as poultry, meat and meat products, fish, seafood, and fruits and vegetables. In the produc tion of these foodstuffs, irradiation may thus be a critical control point (CCP), It has the potential to eliminate vegetative forms of bacterial path ogens as well as parasites. Moreover, irradiation fulfils other criteria fo r a CCP, i.e., critical limits (minimum and maximum doses) can be establish ed and monitored, and process control is well known. Corrective actions can also be taken when necessary. Irradiation is a safe technology and has bee n recognized as such by the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. It certa inly merits the attention of industry and public health authorities. Today, 40 countries permit the irradiation of one or more foodstuffs: 12 countrie s have approved its use for pathogen control in poultry, 8 other for use in meats, and 13 in fish and seafood. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.