High-dose irradiated food: Current progress, applications, and prospects

Highlights: • High-dose (> 10 kGy) irradiation of food is safe and effective. • Recent applications include the high-dose irradiation of specialty foods (i.e. for immunocompromised patients). • Studies to further improve the sensory characteristics of high-dose irradiated food is needed. - Abstract: Food irradiation as an established and mature technology has gained more attention in the food industry for ensuring food safety and quality. Primarily used for phytosanitary applications, its use has been expanded for developing various food products for varied purposes (e.g. ready-to-eat & ready-to-cook foods, hospital diets, etc.). This paper summarized and analyzed the recent progress and application of high-dose irradiation and discussed its prospects in the field of food product development, its safety and quality.