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1. LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP FDA/CFSAN: Food Irradiation Presented by: Dr. Lane Highbarger Tuesday, May 11, 2010

2. Food Irradiation Lane A. Highbarger, Ph.D. Division of Biotechnology and GRAS Notice Review Office of Food Additive Safety Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition May 11, 2010

3. Poll Question Have you ever knowingly purchased an irradiated food? • Yes • No • How would I know?

4. Energy

5. Radiation Spectrum

6. Sources of Radiation • Cobalt 60 - 1.33 MeV • Cesium 137 - 662 keV • Electron accelerators operated at 10 MeV or less • X-ray generators operated at 7.5 MeV or less

7. Dose – What it Means • Irradiation doses are measured in gray (Gy) • Gy is measured in joule/kg absorbed energy • 1 Gy = 1 = 1 m2 s-2 • For X-rays and gamma rays == Sievert • Energy sources are constant • Applied dose = energy source✕time exposed • Absorbed dose depends on other factors J Kg

8. Food Irradiation Facilities Gamma Electron beam

9. Let’s Pause for Questions?

10. Food Irradiation Overview

11. A Brief History of Food Irradiation • 1905 Begins the era of food irradiation. • 1958 Congress defines a source of radiation as a food additive. • 1980 Foods irradiated up to 10 kGy considered to be safe and wholesome. • 1997 Foods irradiated at any dose should be considered as safe and as wholesome as foods treated by any other conventional process. • 2001 Irradiation is used to eliminate possible traces of Anthrax. • 1984-2009 FDA approves the use of irradiation in a variety of foods.

12. Why Irradiate? • Low Dose (<1 kGy) • Control insects • Inhibit maturation • Inhibit sprouting • Medium Dose (1-10 kGy) • Extend shelf life • Reduce microorganism level • High Dose (> 30 kGy) • Sterilize - analogous to canning • Decontaminate certain food additives, e.g., spices

13. Foods Permitted to Be Irradiated Under FDA’s Regulations • All foods Arthropod Control 1 kGy max • Dry Enzyme Preps. Microbial Control 10 kGy max • Fresh Foods Maturation Inhibition 1 kGy max • Spices/Seasonings Microbial Control 30 kGy max • Poultry Microbial Control 3 kGy max • Seeds for sprouting Microbial Control 8 kGy max • Shell eggs Microbial Control 3 kGy max • Meat and meat byproducts Microbial Control 4 kGy/7 kGy • Molluscan shellfish Microbial Control 5.5 kGy max • Fresh lettuce and spinach Microbial Control 4 kGy max • NASA Sterilization 44 kGy min

14. Other Irradiated Substances • Medical equipment Microbial Control • Laboratory animal Microbial Control diets 50 kGy max • Poultry feed Salmonella spp. 25 kGy max • Pet foods, treats and Salmonella spp. chews 50 kGy max

15. Best return on irradiation Which foods do you think would benefit most from being irradiated? Either from a food safety point of view or a commercial point of view. A) Ground beef B) Lettuce C) Shell eggs D) Fruits E) NASA beefsteak

16. Let’s Pause for Questions?

17. Irradiation Action

18. Method of Action • E-beam – shallow penetration • Converted to x-ray for more penetration • Gamma – ‘deeper’ penetration • All act via similar mechanisms

19. Susceptibility • Mammals > Insects > Single Celled Organisms > Viruses; (Prions Likely Resistant) • D10 – The radiation dose needed to inactivate 90% of the microbial load in the food medium

20. Bacterial Susceptibility • All bacteria have different susceptibilities to radiation (values in kGy) • Salmonella spp. – 0.36 - 0.77 • Listeria monocytogenes – 0.35 - 0.7 • E. coli O157:H7 – 0.25 - 0.39 • A 99.999% reduction = 5 x D10 value

21. Perceptions Which number sounds better as a descriptor for the reduction of a bacterial population? And which one is the greatest kill? A) 5000 times B) 99.99% C) Reduced by 10-5 D) A 4 D10 reduction E) I have a headache now

22. Let’s Pause for Questions?

23. Safety Considerations

24. Safety Considerations • Radiological Safety • Chemical Change and Potential Toxicity • Nutritional Adequacy • Potential Microbiological Hazard

25. Chemical Change • Energy stimulates chemistry • Increases when liquid is present • Initiates reaction with air • Generally little – but not necessarily negligible change • Can be controlled by controlling conditions

26. Heated Lipid (180 ºC/1Hr) vs Irrad (120 kGy)

27. Nutrition Issues • Vitamins can be labile to heat and irradiation

28. Microbiological • Radiation sensitivity varies with species • Sensitivity varies with environment • Temperature; water Activity; pH; Salt; etc

29. Poll Question

30. Let’s Pause for Questions?

31. Foods Currently Under Review • Crustaceans • Multiple-ingredient products • Non-refrigerated meat food products • Poultry • Dietary supplements

32. Labeling Criteria • The FDA requires that irradiated foods bear the radura label and state on the label “Treated with radiation” or “Treated by irradiation” • There is no statutory requirement specific to irradiation

33. Poll Quesiton Would you prefer to have food labeled if it were irradiated? √Yes X No

34. Controversy and Queries • Objections • Consumer • Public Citizen / Center for Food Safety • Formal Correspondence

35. Let’s Pause for Questions?

36. Other non-Thermal Mitigation Technologies

37. High Pressure Processing • 80k – 130k lb/in2 • Effective at elimination of microbial contamination • Spores are resistant • Expensive

38. Pulsed Field • Short bursts of electricity used for microbial control. • Liquids, e.g., juice, milk, liquid eggs. • Low cost.

39. UV Radiation • Effective at microbial decontamination in liquids. • Approved for use in surface decontamination. • Approved for use in juices.

40. Web Based Information ResourcesFood Safety and Irradiation Food Irradiation Processors Alliance – http://www.fipa.us/ Kansas State University – http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/ USDA Fact sheet – http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Irradiation_and_Food_Safety/index.asp FSIS on labeling – http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/larc/Policies/IrradiationQA.htm Food Safety dot gov – http://www.foodsafety.gov/ Printable information: Irradiated Lettuce and Spinach – http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/UCM143389.pdf Recent News: E. coli O145 in romaine lettuce – http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2010/ecoli_o145/index.htm WSJ Blog on E. Coli – http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/05/07/health-blog-qa-what-to-do-about-e-coli/

41. Thank you to the sponsor of tonight's Web Seminar:

42. http://learningcenter.nsta.org

43. http://www.elluminate.com

44. National Science Teachers Association Dr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-Learning NSTA Web Seminars Paul Tingler, Director Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP