2. Advantages and limitations of ionization
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In France, as in all industrialized countries, ionizing radiation treatments are used primarily for food safety purposes. It eliminates pathogenic bacteria, particularly in poultry meat (Listeria, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, etc.) and significantly reduces the total flora.
Diet-related diseases are a growing global problem. It is becoming widespread because of the intensive production methods needed to meet the developed world's continuous demand for meat and vegetables, exotic fruits and spices, regardless of the seasons.
The latest estimates put the number of food-related illnesses in the USA alone at 76 million, 5,000 of them fatal. Children and the elderly are most at risk. Campylobacter in poultry and Salmonella in meat account for the greatest number of deaths, but E. coli-0157 : H7 in ground...
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Advantages and limitations of ionization
Technical aspects. Installations
Regulations
European regulations exist in the form of two directives issued in 1999, but these have still not been transposed into French law. The European list of authorized products has not yet been published, so national regulations continue to apply in the meantime.
Only around twenty products are currently authorized for ionization treatment in France (table
Economic data for France
(source: XIIth International Meeting on Radiation Processing, Avignon March 25-30, 2001)
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Before 2000
Significant quantities of spices were processed from the mid-1980s onwards, reaching a volume of 6,000 t in 1999.
Until the end of 1999, the total quantities of feed treated (see list of products authorized for treatment...
Service providers in France
Ionisos (5 centers) www.ionisos.com
Radier (2 centers)
Gammaster (1 center)
CEA (1 center, for research)
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