Identification of Irradiated Foods by Using DNA, Immunochemical, and Biological Methods

Ionizing radiation is considered to be an efficient technology to improve food safety and to extend food shelf-life in the food industry, and it has been used in food processing with a number of attributes. Food labeling should be established to enable the consumer to choose food freely, based on label information. A variety of methodologies to determine the physical, chemical, microbiological, and biological changes due to irradiation has been investigated in order to discriminate the irradiated and unirradiated food products for the consumer's free choice in food selection. However, no satisfactory method has been developed so far. In this review, various approaches based on DNA, immunochemical, and biological methods are addressed.