PSYC 2390 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Food Irradiation, Ionizing Radiation, Radiolysis
15 Jul 2018
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Document Summary
Food irradiation: food irradiation is the application of ionizing energy to foods in order to rpeserve them. Electron beam (e-beam) technology uses high-energy electrons to destroy harmful microorganisms within seconds by penetrating products in their final shipping packaging. Irradiation has both direct and indirect effects on biological materials. The direct effects are due to the collision of the photons of radiation with the atoms in the molecule of living matter. The indirect effects are due to the formation of free radicals (unstable molecules carrying an extra electron) during the radiolysis (radiation-induced splitting) of water molecules. Ionizing radiation kills microorganisms by damaging the biomolecules of their cells. Incoming photons of radiation hit electrons in the atoms of the microorganisms or food molecules. Irradiation also exerts indirect effects on microorganisms that destroy them. Radiation energy absorbed into a food does not make it radioactive. The term free radical refers to an atom or molecule having an unpaired electrom.
