Innovative technology and acceptance of social risks

About 50 years have elapsed since the start of the basic research on food irradiation technology as one of the methods of preserving foods. In 1970s, the international project on the prior evaluation of the safety of irradiated foods was carried out by FAO/IAEA and the cooperation of 24 countries. As the result, any food which was irradiated with the dose less than 10 kGy never showed poisonous effect. According to the recommendation, 'International general standard on irradiated foods (draft)' and 'International criteria for carrying out food irradiation (draft)' were sent to participating countries in 1983 through FAO/WHO. Also in Japan, the research on the prior evaluation of the soundness of seven irradiated foods was performed from 1967 to 1988. The general research on food irradiation in Japan is reported. Regarding foods, as the change is innovative, people show instinctive rejection against it. The risk in the case of discussing the safety of foods, the factors that exert influence to the acceptance of the risks, and the case of the investigation of the fear of the people in USA related to biotechnology are discussed. (K.I.)