[en] Radiation as a food preservation method has long been used in many countries, among them Chile. The application of this technology to brand name hamburgers was studied by Santo Tomas University together with the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission in order to eliminate pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp and to identify organoleptic characteristics using specific doses. A total of 144 frozen hamburgers (-18^oC) were analyzed and divided into three equal groups. Each hamburger - weighing 115 g approximately - was put into sealed polyethylene bags. The first two sample groups were sterilized with irradiation doses of 25 kGy, then inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain ATCC 25922 ISP (Instituto de Salud Publica) and Salmonella sp strain ATCC 2714-99 ISP. The inoculating strains were prepared in the Microbiology Laboratory of Santo Tomas University. The third group was not sterilized because it was the control group. The samples were treated with gamma irradiation (Co⁶⁰), with doses of 0, 1, 2 and 4 kGy analyzing the bacteria counts after 24 hours, 30 days and 60 days post radiation. Their values D₁₀ were also investigated finding values of 0.472 to 0.494 kGy for the Escherichia coli and 0.649 to 0.697 kGy for the Salmonella sp. The storage time did not influence the values D₁₀. The statistical analysis reveals that there are significant differences among the species (p 0,05), due to the diverse nature of the bacteria. Similarly, storage times also showed meaningful differences between days 1, 30 and 60, but this fact was not reflected in the results obtained in the D₁₀. The organoleptic analysis of hamburger was done by means of a sensory evaluation panel of 12 members, which evaluated samples with 0; 1.5 and 3 kGy. Each person tasted about 55 of each sample and evaluated nine attributes such as appearance, color, aroma, sweetness, acidity, bitterness, texture, flavor and acceptability. Statistically, no attribute showed significant differences (p ≤0.05) between the radiated samples and the control group, concluding that the level of hamburger acceptability was qualified as good (author)