lthough the United States has the world’s safest food supply, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 96 US citizens die each week from microbial food-borne illnesses. Nearly 5,000 people die needlessly on an annual basis due to this problem. Food-borne pathogens are also responsible for 76 million illnesses requiring 325,000 hospitalizations. As a result, millions of dollars are spent or lost due to required health care, lost wages and productivity, and lawsuit settlements. In addition, 25 percent of our nation’s food production experiences post-harvest damage annually due to bacteria, mold, and contamination with spoilage microorganisms.

Needless to say, a major scientific breakthrough is needed to curb these problems. In order to do so, it is imperative that we investigate the applicability of promising alternative technologies that can be used to improve the safety and integrity of ready-to-eat and fresh agricultural products.

The recent progress in the development of electron beam accelerators, coupled with the increased number of produce-associated food-borne disease outbreaks, provide the incentive for the development of an efficient technique to ensure hygienic quality of food products -- especially those to be consumed raw or under-cooked -- to protect consumer heath. Therefore, the overall objective of this research project at Texas A&M University is to improve safety of complex food items with electron beam technology.

Despite the advances in irradiation methods, satisfactory irradiation of fresh produce requires strict process control to ensure that the dose delivered to all parts of the treated product falls within some specified range. Hence, it is necessary to assess the ability of a given irradiation system to deliver the required dose to products intended for treatment.

According to one of the principal investigators of the funded study, Dr. M. E. Castell-Perez, we will:

1. develop a dosimetry technique for surface and in-depth irradiation of fruits and vegetables in bulk or fresh-cut/sliced, based on imaging processing and computer simulation;

2. generate a database on the effectiveness of electron beam irradiation treatments (surface and high energy) on microbial death of spoilage microorganisms, organoleptic and nutritional quality of irradiated fruits and vegetables, in bulk or fresh-cut/sliced; and

3. implement education and training of students, producers, and industry as well as consumers.

This research project will have ready access to the Texas A&M University Electron Beam Food Research Facility which houses two vertically mounted opposing 10 MeV, 19 kW electron beam linear accelerators (LINAC), and a single horizontally mounted 5 MeV, 15 kW X-ray linear accelerator. This is the result of a research agreement between SureBeam Corporation and Texas A&M University.

Other resources significant to the implementation of our studies include:

1. a two energy MeV Van de Graaff Electron Accelerator (High Voltage Engineering Cooperation) for low energy irradiation testing, and

2. a Universal HD 200 X-ray CT scanner in the Department of Petroleum Engineering to scan selected food items.

The Principal Investigators for this project are R. G. Moreira, M. E. Castell-Perez, and A. Vestal (Departments of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University). Collaborators on the project are L. Cisneros (Horticulture) and L. Brady (Nuclear Engineering) from Texas A&M University, E. Risch (Food Science, Prairie View A&M University), and F. Dainello (Horticulture) and B. Thompson (Food Science) of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University.