Analytical methods

At present, there is no single method applicable to all types of irradiated foods but specific methods for each group of them based on the chemical, physical and microbiological changes induced by ionizing radiation.
Below the list of methods standardized by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and implemented by the Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione (UNI), which includes both screening and confirmation methods.
 

The above methods were initially validated for a reduced number of food matrices. A first description of the methods (principle, limitations and validation) is reported in the ISTISAN 4/21 Report “Treatment of foods with ionizing radiation” (IT). These methods are subject to continuous checks and implementations in order to test their effectiveness and extend their application to other foods.
Updated information on the purposes, principle, limitations and validation of each method is reported in the ISTISAN 17/43 Report "Analytical methods for the control of irradiated foods" (IT). The report is focused to the description of the analytical methods reported in the National Control Plan on foods and their ingredients treated with ionizing radiation and is mainly addressed to the laboratories involved in the official control. It is divided into four chapters and includes an introduction on the state of the art of controls and a brief description of the Plan. The development of each chapter relating to the methods of analysis includes a first part with the description of the technique and a second part where the application of the methods to the matrices selected in the Plan is discussed with particular attention to the aspects relating to data analysis and sample classification.
The methods are subject to review by the CEN/TC 275 Working Group 8 “Irradiated foodstuffs” made up of experts from different European countries that periodically update the standardized methods.
Experts for Italy since 2018: Dr. Concetta Boniglia (SANV, ISS), Dr. Emanuela Bortolin (FAST, ISS).