Russian scientists have developed a clear method for determining the degree of irradiation of plant foods. This was reported by the press service of Moscow State University.
Most of today’s foods are disinfected before they are delivered to stores, extending their shelf life and preventing the development of pathogens. A popular disinfection method is ionizing radiation (X-ray and gamma). At the same time, the threshold for the absorbed dose for disinfection is different for all products – cereals require some suction, and spices require about 10 kilograms. At the same time, excessive radiation can make products dangerous to the consumer, or at least spoil their taste. In this regard, scientists are looking for simple and convenient ways to control how much radiation a product absorbs.
Chemists from Moscow State University have proposed a new technique for this. For the study, scientists took an ordinary potato, which was often irradiated so that it did not germinate during long-term storage. Carboxylic dyes were used as indicators. Scientists used two schemes. In the first case, the color changed due to the redox reaction catalyzed by copper ions, in the second – due to the aggregation of the dye with the components of the solution. The color of the extract was recorded by the authors in the optical range and near IR region using a smartphone camera. Then scientists analyzed the information received.
“We have the idea: different doses of radiation lead to different rates of dye oxidation reaction. As a result, the color intensity and fluorescence of the dye solution in a sample with a high dose of radiation will be lower than in a sample with a lower dose,” said one of the authors, Evgeny Skorobogatov. ray.
Experts believe that a simple test system can be developed on the basis of the proposed technology. It will quickly determine the radiation dose received by a particular product. According to the authors of the development, they were able to reduce the procedure to relatively inexpensive analyzes and reagents, followed by statistical data processing. For this reason, it is suitable for mass use and will not affect the final price of the products.
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