By Peter Keen
Irradiation beams radiation on objects and organisms. It is highly effective in destroying the DNA of microorganisms that cause food poisoning. Salmonella and e-coli are noted instances. It also preserves freshness and extends shelf life.
The process is in widespread use for spices, vegetables such as spinach, fruit and meats, with gamma rays, electron beams and various colors of ultra-violet light. All products that have been irradiated must display an internationally approved Radura label, though that is not required when the ingredient is used in another product. Organic food legally may not be irradiated. Around 60 countries irradiate 500,000 metric tons of food products each year.
As yet, it has not had a direct impact on tea and there seems to be no brands that employ it. That said, the widespread irradiation of spices that are used in many blends means that it is already here. More and more herbal and organic tea blends are stressing in their ads that they are non-irradiated, obviously implying that others are,
As for irradiation coming soon to the mainstream of teas, there’s no clear trend but the research literature shows an increase in studies of its impacts on flavor, taste and chemistry. There are ample incentives to adopt irradiation: the occasional but disturbing market recalls of teas from first-rate companies for e-coli and salmonella risks, plus the discouragement and even banning of pesticide use.
In addition, it is safe and has nothing to do with making a food radioactive. Irradiation is not radiation. Radiation requires energy. Irradiation removes it. This is analogous to plain light; after a lamp has been shone on a leaf; the leaf doesn’t shine back.
It’s statistically safe and has been tested continuously since the 1950s. The World Health Organization, the US Food and Drug Administration and agencies of the EU, Japan, and China all approve its use.
But…
There are concerns and plain dislikes, too. Many of these are the same ones that apply to GMO crops, a sense of likely unexpected “nature-fights-back” and hidden side effects and counterforces. At the top of the list is the concern that quality, nutrition and flavor will be eroded.
It could be. The standard research method is to take a branded tea on sales in any grocery, irradiate it and then compare its before-and-after composition. Studies find wide variations in impacts of different wavelengths.