Legal, administrative and psychological barriers to the industrial application of food irradiation and the trade in irradiated food

As a result of the recent evaluations of a joint FAO/IAEA/WHO Expert Committee almost all scientific hesitations against the use of irradiation for the preservation of food have been removed. This opens wide perspectives for the augmentation of the quantity of food available for consumption. This also offers great possibilities for less-developed countries with an agricultural economy to export products to the developed countries. Two obstacles to the internationalization of trade in irradiated food remain, however. Only if these last obstacles are removed will food irradiation be able to play an important role. The first obstacle is that no simple test exists to determine whether a food item has been irradiated and with what dose. The second obstacle is the public acceptance of irradiated food, as the public is highly sensitive to imagined or real dangers associated with the word radiation. Ways are suggested for overcoming both obstacles, stressing the importance of international cooperation and international organizations such as the IAEA, FAO and WHO. (author)