The effects of feeding 10 kGy irradiated barley on haematological and lipid metabolism parameters of growing quails

Based on numerous test results indicating irradiated foods to be safe provided that the radiation dose does not exceed 10 kGy, the international joint FAO/IAEA/WHO committee of experts arrived at the conclusion in 1981 that irradiation had to be seen as safe. Those few results indicating impairing effects of foods and food ingredients which had been (irradiated by doses up to 10 kGy, were found to contain methodological faults and errors in detection. The results achieved by the authors in toxicity testing in quails by feeding them the foodstuff ingredients to be examined, indicate that the irradiation of barley with 10 kGy may result in the formation of reaction products which may cause biological actions and effects when feeding this cereal at a percentage of 50% of the foodstuff. However, the available results of these studies do not suggest a damaging action effect. This requires additional detailed analyses of the irradiated barley and a wider biological parameter range in follow-up tests. The selected model involving quails in their growth stage starting with hatching as base line can be seen as highly sensitive for these studies. (orig./VHE)