Irradiation pasteurization of solid foods: taking food safety to the next level.

In the 19th century, milk from diseased cattle produced in unsanitary surroundings and distributed under filthy conditions to an increasingly urbanized population sickened and killed consumers by the thousands (1,2). Wide acceptance of the germ theory and the sanitary awakening that followed led to vast improvements in animal health and hygiene, and the safety of dairy products improved substantially. Dairy farmers in northern Europe discovered that heating milk fed to their calves further reduced the risk for tuberculosis in their herds, and after overcoming concerns that the new thermal pasteurization technology would corrupt the dairy industry, destroy the nutritional value of milk, and lead to serious public health problems, the same level of protection was offered to human consumers a few decades later (3,4). More recently, thermal pasteurization has been suggested for eliminating low level contamination of juice by foodborne pathogens (5,6). However, for the safety of solid foods that enter kitchens as raw agricultural commodities, including meat, poultry, and seafood, we continue to rely solely on animal health programs and sanitation. Therefore, as we approach the 21st century, preventable illness and death caused by vegetative bacterial and parasitic foodborne pathogens remain substantial public health problems (7,8). Irradiation pasteurization of solid foods with low doses of gamma rays, X-rays, and electrons will effectively control vegetative bacterial and parasitic foodborne pathogens (9-11). Public concerns, similar to those raised against thermal pasteurization of milk, have been advanced in opposition to irradiation pasteurization, and it has been claimed that if we but paid more attention to sanitation and proper cooking, these products could be safely consumed without introducing new technologies. Perhaps. However, the residual risk for infection that remains after state-of-practice sanitation during production, harvest, processing , distribution, and preparation yields an unacceptable level of illness and death. In addition, the admonition to properly cook works only if culturally acceptable food preferences do not include undercooked and raw foods. Increased interest (encouraged by the public health and nutrition community) in fresh produce as part of a high fiber, low fat diet, further reduces the effectiveness of proper cooking as a disease control strategy (12). Recent outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with undercooked meat and uncooked fresh produce, and the emergence of the previously unrecognized foodborne hazards that spawned the conference whose proceedings are reported in this issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, have stimulated interest in methods of pasteurizing solid food without altering its …