Irradiation of food

A committee has on instructions from the swedish government made an inquiry into the possible effects on health and working environment from irradition of food. In this report, a review is presented on the known positiv and negative effects of food irradiation Costs, availabilty, shelf life and quality of irradiated food are also discussed. According to the report, the production of radiolysis products during irradiation is not easily evaluated. The health risks from irradiation of spices are estimated to be lower than the risks associated with the ethenoxid treatment presently used. (L.E.)