I don't think any "fresh produce" can be irradiated - that would kill
the cells, and it wouldn't keep.
I think it is all a matter of dose and time. There is a dose which
would destroy bacteria and virus, and probably beat the heck out of the
fruit's DNA, but not result in damage to the cells themselves.
Remember, in a ripe fruit the plant's cells are no longer dividing, they
have done all the work they are going to do. So if you muck up their
DNA, nobody cares and the mechanisms that induce cell death in response
to DNA damage probably won't be invoked.
Since bacteria continue to divide and prosper after fruit ripening, they
are most susceptible to radiation damage. Hence, the right dose would
kill bacteria, but might not affect fruit (vegetable) quality.
And, as everybody knows, irradiation doesn't make food radioactive...
Just had to put that out there. I used to irradiate blood for
transfusions... So if we can irradiate blood and have it still be
useful, one presumes we can do that with other complex tissues (like
green onions).
Rob (misses green onions at restaurants)
--
Robert G. Halgren, Ph.D.
Bioinformatics Specialist
GTSF - Michigan State University http://genomics.msu.edu
(517) 353-7236 - halgren@msu.edu