Verification of the new detection method for irradiated spices based on microbial survival by collaborative blind trial

摘要

An irradiation detection method using the difference of the radiation sensitivity of the heat-treated microorganisms was developed as one of the microbiological detection methods of the irradiated foods. This detection method is based on the difference of the viable cell count before and after heat treatment (70°C and 10min).The verification by collaborative blind trial of this method was done by nine inspecting agencies in Japan. The samples used for this trial were five kinds of spices consisting of non-irradiated, 5 kGy irradiated, and 7 kGy irradiated black pepper, allspice, oregano, sage, and paprika, respectively. As a result of this collaboration, a high percentage (80%) of the correct answers was obtained for irradiated black pepper and allspice. However, the method was less successful for irradiated oregano, sage, and paprika. It might be possible to use this detection method for preliminary screening of the irradiated foods but further work is necessary to confirm these findings.