[en] In the task of alleviating the distress caused by the world-wide food shortage it is essential to preserve what has been grown and harvested in the fields. Clearly all suitable methods for preserving agricultural produce and food should be made use of. In this context treatment with ionizing radiation has proved its value as an environmentally clean, physical method o f food preservation which is low in its energy requirement, but the volume of food being processed in this way is still low. The introduction o f food irradiation on a global basis poses certain economic, legal, regulatory and health-related questions, the solution o f which requires close international collaboration. Such collaboration between many international, intergovernmental and national organizations began over a decade ago. The need for dissemination and discussion o f information gained through research and development work on this subject became apparent, and a number of inter-regional meetings were held. The last international symposium on the topic was held jointly by FAO and the IAEA in 1972 in Bombay. To review progress made since then, FAO and the IAEA, together with WHO, convened the present Symposium on 21-25 November 1977. It appeared timely to hold this Symposium for the following reasons: (1) Apart from significant scientific work reported in the literature, progress in other directions between 1972 and 1977 had also been made. For example, the number of food items authorized by governments, with or without restriction, had grown from 19 to 26, and the number of countries accepting one or more irradiated foods for human consumption had increased from 11 to 19. (2) Largely on the basis of the work of the International Project in the Field of Food Irradiation (Karlsruhe), already described at the Bombay Symposium, an international expert committee, jointly convened by FAO, the IAEA and WHO in August-September 1976, had made important statements on the philosophy of wholesomeness studies, as well as on the public health acceptability of a number of irradiated food items. These matters had been reported in WHO Technical Reports Series No.604, Wholesomeness of Irradiated Food, published in Geneva, 1977. (3) The Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, through the Codex Alimentarius, had examined food irradiation and developed a proposed General Standard on Irradiated Foods and a proposed Code of Practice for the Operation of Radiation Facilities used for the Treatment of Foods at step 5 of the 9 - 10 step procedure of the Codex. (4) FAO and the IAEA were about to join forces with the Government of the Netherlands in establishing an International Facility for Food Irradiation Technology at Wageningen for the purposes of technological and economic training and research in food irradiation. Sessions o f the Symposium dealt with such topics as the control of animal infestation, toxicological studies, public health aspects and economics, and many papers were concerned with chemical changes in irradiated foods and with the control o f microbial spoilage. The present Proceedings contain the papers given and the ensuing discussions, including the extensive round-table discussion on a plan of action for the future. The order of publication of the papers does not strictly follow that of presentation at the Symposium where, for technical reasons, it was not always possible to preserve the logical sequence. Viewed against the new developments recorded here, the outlook for the food irradiation community is encouraging, and the tasks ahead appear less formidable. The sponsoring organizations hope that the publication of this material will be a useful contribution towards accelerated progress in the practical application of food processing by irradiation