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Ask HN: Why isn't radiation used to sterilize raw foods (like sashimi, eggs)?

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Re: Ask HN: Why isn't radiation used to sterilize raw foods (like sashimi, eggs)?

#11

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/food-irradiation-...

Thanks for posting that, it's very interesting. While I think it's a solvable problem, I take the point that nobody wants irradiation to be substitute for poor hygiene conditions during food production

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Re: Ask HN: Why isn't radiation used to sterilize raw foods (like sashimi, eggs)?

#12

Too dangerous, there have been incidents where people have overridden safety protocols and crawled into the "hot" space to fix issues and got themselves irradiated, usually with lethal results.

I am sure there have been multiple orders of magnitudes of people who have died from food borne illnesses that would have been eliminated by irradiating the food.

In addition, I would bet that irradiation equipment is safer than tractors and other large scale industrial machinery used in the food industry.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't radiation used to sterilize raw foods (like sashimi, eggs)?

#13

High energy radiation breaks organic bonds all over the place, resulting in changes in color, taste, and nutrition, not to mention carcinogenic tendencies. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5820857/

Can anyone vouch for that journal "International Journal of Medical Sciences"?

It seems like there's a lot of imaginary radiation==cancer stuff going around, it's not clear to me if this study is a one-of or if it's generally accepted that there is a danger. I suspect it's the former

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't radiation used to sterilize raw foods (like sashimi, eggs)?

#15
post #8

It is used, particularly with spices and fresh fruit, but sporadically for all kinds of food. As for why it's not universal: There are some concerns about radiochemical effects, mostly regarding nutritional degradation, with extremely high doses such as might be used to sterilize raw meat for storage at room temperature. While I can't source this now that I'm looking for it, I vaguely recall reading a survey about fo…

As a heavy milk drinker (I'll put away about three gallons of nonfat a week), my issue with UHT is the odd caramel taste it picks up from the heat treatment. On the other hand, my wife, who consumes way less dairy and hardly drinks milk as a beverage at all, has no problem with UHT milk pretty much anywhere I'd prefer fresh. It's been awhile since I looked at the state of irradiated milk, though I had an irradiated camp stew once and that wasn't bad.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't radiation used to sterilize raw foods (like sashimi, eggs)?

#17

High energy radiation breaks organic bonds all over the place, resulting in changes in color, taste, and nutrition, not to mention carcinogenic tendencies. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5820857/

Can anyone vouch for that journal "International Journal of Medical Sciences"? It seems like there's a lot of imaginary radiation==cancer stuff going around, it's not clear to me if this study is a one-of or if it's generally accepted that there is a danger. I suspect it's the former

Why is that surprising? Grilling also produces carcinogens.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't radiation used to sterilize raw foods (like sashimi, eggs)?

#18

Because as much as the ads yell about disinfecting, very little actually needs disinfecting in order to be safe for you. And of course eggs are their own special story. They already come with a protective coating. The US and Canada just washes it off, actually making the eggs _less_ safe, necessitating refrigeration.

Yeah, here in NZ we keep our eggs on the bench for weeks before using them. A quick test to see if they float in water before cooking them lets you know that they're safe.
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