title: Food irradiation: a public health opportunity.
abstract: Public health scientists have had an interest in food irradiation for a hundred years and more. The first investigations occurred within a few years of the discovery of x-ray and short wavelength by the German physicist Roentgen, in 1895. German and French scientists carried on studies on pasteurization of food by radiation until 1914 and the war years. The problem was an unacceptable taste following irradiation. In 1921, the x-ray was reported by the scientists of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be effective in killing Trichinella cysts in pork and that it could kill disease-causing organisms and halt food spoilage.
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas-Houston, School of Public Health, Houston, TX 77225, USA. pcolman@utsph.sph.uth.tmc.edu
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Steele
mesh_terms: D005514:Food Irradiation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D011640:Public Policy; D014481:United States; D016885:United States Department of Agriculture; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration; D014944:World Health Organization