Irradiation can be used as a processing technology whereby
certain types of food can be exposed to a source of ionising
energy in order to kill or sterilise insects, bacteria, micro-
organisms and other pathogens. In Australia, it is particularly
helpful to help farmers, processors and retailers meet
quarantine and biosecurity requirements, as irradiation is
highly effective against common insect pests including fruit
fly. Food irradiation is used around the world and the widely
held scientific consensus after more than fifty years of
research is that when carried out within specified standards
irradiation produces food that is safe to eat. Irradiation has
the support of all the leading international scientific health
and food safety bodies and each year an estimated one million
tonnes of irradiated food is consumed worldwide. Before a food
product can be irradiated in Australia it must first go through
a strict safety assessment by Food Standards Australia New
Zealand (FSANZ) and once approval has been grante