Survey of Irradiated Foods: your questions answered

Food irradiation is a processing technique that exposes food to electron beams, X-rays or gamma rays, and produces a similar effect to pasteurisation, cooking or other forms of heat treatment.

Decades of research worldwide have shown that irradiation does not make food unsafe. Irradiation does not make it radioactive, because the food does not come into direct contact with the source of the radiation.

Irradiation can be used to kill bacteria that cause food poisoning, such as salmonella, campylobacter and E. coli. It can also delay fruit ripening and help stop vegetables such as potatoes and onions from sprouting. It is used in many parts of the world because it is an effective way of killing bacteria and with some food, such as spices that are dried in the sun, irradiation kills bacteria without changing their flavours or aromas.

In the UK, only correctly labelled irradiated herbs, spices or vegetable seasonings are permitted. The Agency is committed to ensuring that consumers are not misled about the food they buy. This survey was conducted as part of the Agency’s authenticity programme, which aims to gather information about food labelling in the UK.

An earlier survey carried out by the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1996 looked at herb and spices, prawns and shrimps, fruit, vegetable, chicken and liquid egg. Only four products, all spices, were identified as irradiated. Since 1996 a number of reports have claimed that irradiated food, including dietary supplements and prawns and shrimps, are on sale in the UK.

Of 138 dietary supplement samples analysed, 44 (32%) had been wholly irradiated and a further 14 samples (10%) contained irradiated ingredients.

Of the 203 herb and spice samples, only one sample of ground nutmeg had an irradiated component. This represents 0.5% of all herb and spice samples investigated.

Of the 202 prawn and shrimp samples analysed, only one sample (0.5%) was identified as having been wholly irradiated. A further four samples (2.0%) were identified as containing irradiated components.

No. None of the foods sampled were labelled as ‘irradiated’ or ‘treated with ionising radiation’.

No, but many foods contain ingredients from different sources, such as curry powder. The law states that if a permitted irradiated food is mixed with a non-irradiated food, the resulting product has to be labelled as either ‘irradiated’ or ‘treated with ionising radiation’.

The dried herb products sampled were: basil, dill, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme. The spice products were aniseed, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, chilli powder, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry paste, curry powder, ginger, garam masala, mixed spice, nutmeg, paprika, turmeric and white pepper.

The dietary supplements were: alfalfa, Aloe vera, cat’s claw, devil’s claw, garlic, ginger, Gingko biloba, ginseng, green tea, guarana, kava kava, saw palmetto, silymarin (milk thistle) and turmeric.

A range of product descriptions were found for prawns and shrimps including: black tiger, cap tiger, cocktail, cold water, crevettes, fantail, fantail tiger, fresh water, giant, jumbo tiger king, king, Macrobrachium, Mekong tiger, North Atlantic, pink, salad, tiger, tiger king and tiger tails.

The samples included branded and own label products and were purchased from a wide range of commercial outlets in the UK, including supermarkets, cash and carry stores, and fishmongers. Dietary supplements were also purchased from Internet suppliers and by mail order.

During August and September 2001 – the tests are complex and involve a number of repeat measurements to ensure reliable results.

There are many products on the market so any samples are chosen to take a 'snapshot' of the current situation. Where possible we chose products that have a large share of the market.

No – with the exception of prawn and shrimp samples, where the majority of irradiated products (4 out of 5) came from South East Asia.

Dietary supplements may be either foods or medicines. The Medicines Control Agency decides which products are medicines.

The companies in breach of the regulations have been informed of the results and told to remove the affected products from sale. Relevant local enforcement authorities have been alerted to these findings. The survey was undertaken for surveillance purposes and cannot be used in prosecutions. However, local authorities can undertake further sampling with a view to prosecution. There will be a further joint FSA/local authority survey to check that the companies concerned have taken appropriate action.