The irradiation of food is a technique used to preserve fresh food like fruit, vegetables and meat. The most widely used form of irradiation is with by bombarding the food with gamma rays from Cobalt-60

        Ingesting radioactive material is very harmful, with no exception of irradiated food. Irradiation breaks up the chemical bonds in food, these bonds recombine into new chemical compounds called radiolytic products known to be carcinogenic. Another result is that the human immune system is weakened by depleting our natural levels of anti-oxidants and can therefore promote cancer. Studies have been done with children with severe protein and total-calorie malnutrition to determine the effects of irradiated food. It was found that the children who had eaten the freshly irradiated wheat had unusually high rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their blood (especially polyploidy). No such changes occurred in the other group. The same results were found in similar tests. The danger with irradiation is that the DNA is altered and mutations occur. There will be a more distinct pattern found in the future as the effects of radiation are usually long term.

        There are also problems with the nutritional value of irradiated food. There is evidence that irradiated foods lose vitamin content, particularly vitamin A, C, E and some of the B complex. Some studies indicate that cooking irradiated foods cause an additional, inordinate loss of nutrients. Some people feel that nutrient loss will not harm people who eat a generally nutritious and balanced diet. Third world countries will however be greatly affected by the loss of nutrients. For the 800 million malnourished and the two billion undernourished the trade off between longer shelf life and less nutrition seems hardly fair.

        Food irradiation has raised interrelated environmental issues. The danger of transporting radioactive isotopes to hundreds of treatment facilities, the environmental practices of those facilities, the danger of worker exposure in environments where irradiation chambers are frequently opened to allow foodstuffs to pass in and out rapidly, and potential security problems at irradiation plants are all negative impacts of the irradiation of food.

        Irradiation can kill many insects and pest that infest foods and can substantially reduce the level of dangerous micro-organisms such as salmonella.  It is useful for delaying normal ripening and decay processes so that food can be stored for longer. There are however a great deal of disadvantages. Apart from it only being  used on a very limited range of foods and that it is expensive, it affects some important constituents of food and creates a new substance called radiolytic products which can lead to cancer. The irradiation of food will only kill 90% of micro-organisms and it is ineffective against viruses.