Practical or harmful Food irradiation polarizes opinion in Japan
In June this year, members of the civic consumer association "Shoku no Communication Entakukaigi," (…In June this year, members of the civic consumer association "Shoku no Communication Entakukaigi," (Roundtable communication on food) submitted a petition to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to consider irradiation as a possible method of food sterilization. In addition to making the request, the association irradiated frozen and defrosted raw beef liver in an experiment with the help of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)s Takasaki Advanced Radiation Research Institute.
The experiment consisted of exposing frozen and defrosted chunks of raw beef liver to 1. 5 kilograys and 3 kilograys of gamma radiation -- the same type used in X-rays. In terms of dosage, one kilogray (kGy) is the equivalent of about one sievert. In the experiment, 17 people examined the smell and color of the irradiated liver. They found that with liver that had been irradiated while still frozen, there was almost no difference in smell and color from that of non-irradiated liver, regardless of the radiation dose. However, liver exposed to radiation after being defrosted became white on the surface, and its smell deteriorated. The subjects did not taste the samples.
