Development and implementation of a protocol for countrywide control and monitoring of irradiated food in the republic of north macedonia

The national monitoring of irradiated food was realized in the Laboratory for detection of irradiated food, as a part of the governmental food safety-monitoring program. The protocol for implementation of countrywide control and monitoring of irradiated food was developed by the Laboratory and provides a selection of test methods and paths with the highest efficiency and economy of the procedure, while ensuring maximum accuracy of the results. As a part of the monitoring program, 140 samples, comprising dried herbs, spices, vegetables and seasonings were tested. All samples were tested according to PPSL method, while 25 were additionally tested according to TL method. The results showed that 6.43 % of the samples have indications that they have been treated with ionizing radiation, 92.86 % of the samples have no indications that they have been treated with ionizing radiation, one sample cannot be identified as irradiated or unirradiated since not enough minerals could be isolated. (author)