In recent years, consumers have been looking for safer, higher quality foods,
but also more convenient and ready-to-eat. Quality assurance through the
elimination of pathogenic microorganisms has been a major concern for the
food industry. However, an alarming number of diseases are still caused by
different foodborne pathogens, which cause hundreds of deaths.1 Escherichia
coli and Listeria monocytogenes are food poisoning microorganisms
frequently involved in microbial outbreaks. To ensure the safety and stability
of food during storage, different physical, chemical, and biological preservation
methods have been developed and are used in the food industry.2–4
Among non-thermal physical technologies of food preservation, irradiation
has become a standard disinfestation and decontamination method worldwide.
5 This process consists in subjecting packaged or in-bulk foods to a
controlled dose of ionizing energy, utilizing g-rays emitted by 60Co (or less
frequently by 137Cs) radioisotopes, or high-energy electrons (e-beam) and X-rays produced by machine sources.5,6 It is effective for improving food safety and
provides a safe quarantine solution.7 Irradiation is also used to prevent
sprouting and post-packaging contamination, delay postharvest ripening and
senescence processes, and is thereby used for shelf-life extension.8 However,
the dose required to ensure safety through the elimination of pathogenic
and spoilage microorganisms can sometimes adversely affect the food quality.
To avoid losses and increase the effectiveness of the treatment, irradiation has
been applied in combination with other preservation methods. These combinations
allow reducing the dose required to eliminate or reduce microbial
populations due to the occurrence of synergistic or additive effects among
the applied preservation factors.9–12 Thus, the microbial radiosensitization
can be enhanced and food quality attributes preserved more effectively.13–15
Several preservation treatments involving the use of g-ray, X-ray, or e-beam
irradiation in combination with microbicidal, microbiostatic, preventive/
protective, or multifunctional hurdles will be detailed in this chapter.
Aspects to consider in the design of these treatments, as well as the strengths
and weaknesses of these combinations will be emphasized, namely the
impact on pathogenic microorganisms and quality parameters.
