The increasing use of nuclear tools to make food safer, to detect unsafe food and to fight food fraud was discussed at an international symposium held at the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna.
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Concerns about the chemical and bacterial contamination of food and effective techniques to assess and manage risks to protect consumers will also be addressed during the International Symposium on Food Safety and Quality: Applications of Nuclear and Related Techniques, organized by the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme.
By determining the ratio of stable isotopes, such as hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, in various foods, scientists can establish where a food product comes from and what it contains - for example, whether orange juice really only contains orange.
“The need for reliable techniques to protect consumers is growing,” said Andrew Cannavan, head of the IAEA’s Food and Environmental Protection Laboratory in Seibersdorf. “Recent food recalls such as cases involving beef products adulterated with horse meat, and melamine-, antibiotic- and dioxin-tainted products, illustrate this need, as do cases of harmful bacteria in fresh foods.”
Determining the integrity of the food supply chain is key to ensuring its safety and quality, as well as protecting the consumer and domestic and international trade. Nuclear-related techniques help meet these challenges and others related to climate change and the need to feed a growing population.
Nuclear-related methods also enable experts to measure tiny quantities of pesticides or other chemicals in foods, and food can be made safer through irradiation that keeps it fresh for longer and protects it against parasites.
Around 350 experts from 100 countries will take part in the event. For a programme and other details, please see the meeting webpage.