Mention of irradiated food, many consumers may not know much. In fact, in our lives everywhere, many people often eat irradiated food. For example, instant noodles, the seasoning package is irradiated, in the instant noodles on the packaging is written: "dehydrated vegetables, spices using the international customary irradiation sterilization technology processing". There are also pickled pepper phoenix claws, directly written on the packaging of irradiated food. In addition to these kinds of food, there are a lot of food is also often used irradiation treatment, such as garlic, potatoes, livestock and poultry meat, frozen aquatic products and so on.

Why irradiate food?

As we all know, the shelf life of fresh meat is very short, if it is placed at room temperature, less than two days will be put bad. The spoilage of fresh meat is caused by microorganisms, for which meat is very good food. On the surface of fresh meat, there are already some microorganisms settled on it, but the number is particularly small, and it is not a threat to human health, but if it is placed at room temperature and no measures are taken, the microorganisms will reproduce in large quantities for a long time and produce toxic metabolites, which will cause acute poisoning after people consume it, and there will be nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, vertigo, etc., and in severe cases, they will also be unconscious, and even die from heart failure and death.

We certainly don't want this to happen, so how do we preserve the meat, in this war against microbes, what are our magic weapons? The first and most commonly used is low temperature, by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms in a low-temperature environment to extend the shelf life, which is a very effective way, for example, in the refrigerated 4 degrees can be left for more than a week. There are also heating, smoking and salting, which are effective ways to inhibit the growth of microorganisms and extend the shelf life of meat foods, but these methods change the traits and quality of the meat, limiting its use. There is another method, which consumers are most reluctant to accept, is to add preservatives, which inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms through the action of preservatives, but the addition of excessive preservatives is also detrimental to human health.

Is there a way to extend the shelf life without affecting the quality of the meat? The answer is irradiation.

For your information.