Effectiveness of thermoluminescence analysis to detect low quantity of gamma-irradiated component in non-irradiated mushroom powders

Gamma-irradiated (0–10 kGy) dried mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) powders were mixed at different ratios (1–10%) in the non-irradiated samples and investigated using photostimulated-luminescence (PSL), electron spin resonance (ESR) and thermoluminescence (TL) techniques. The PSL results were negative for all samples at 1% mixing ratio, whereas intermediate results were observed for the samples containing 5% or 10% irradiated component with the exception (positive) of 10% mixing of 10 kGy-irradiated sample. The ESR analysis showed the presence of crystalline sugar radicals in the irradiated samples but the radiation-specific spectral features were absent in the mixed samples. TL analysis showed the radiation-specific TL glow curves; however, the complicated results were observed at 1% mixing of 2 and 5 kGy-irradiated samples, which required careful evaluations to draw the final conclusion about the irradiation status of the samples. TL ratios could only confirm the results of samples with 5% and 10% mixing of 10 kGy, and 10% mixing of 5 kGy-irradiated components. SEM-EDX analysis showed that feldspar and quartz were major contaminating minerals, responsible for the radiation-specific luminescence characteristics. -- Highlights: ► Detection of irradiated food is important to enforce the applied regulations. ► The effectiveness of TL analysis was investigated to detect irradiated component. ► The TL results were compared with those from PSL and ESR analysis. ► TL analysis was most effective to characterize the irradiation status of samples. ► SEM-EDX analysis showed feldspar and quartz as the main source of TL properties