A possible chemical method for the detection of irradiated potatoes

A method was developed for determining whether potatoes had been irradiated by measuring the changes in the absorption spectra of thiobarbiturate derivatives present in water extracts. Doses as low as 6 krads may be determined 6 months after irradiation although it is not possible to determine the doses applied or the time which has elapsed since the irradiation. Other methods for determination were also tested (e.g., methods based on the measurement of the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone derivatives of carbonyl compounds or of hydrogen peroxide formation) and were found unsatisfactory. (author)