Food Irradiation for Mushrooms: A Review

Food irradiation may be considered as a second big breakthrough after pasteurization. It is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation in order to destroy microorganisms or insects that could be present in the food and some time to improve the functional properties of food or to eliminate toxins, with the least compromise on sensory and nutritive quality. Mushrooms are fleshy fungi, being used as food and medicine. However, their short shelf-life and high initial microbial load are the major problems regarding their easy distribution and safe consumption. The irradiation of mushrooms can be a safe and cost effective method to enhance shelf-life as well as to ensure hygienic and sensory quality. For quarantine requirements and consumer awareness, different detection methods for irradiated mushrooms, such as electron spin resonance, photostimulated luminescence, and thermoluminescence are available, which are effective and validated. Safety of irradiated mushrooms is well documented providing evidences that this technology is safe with some added advantages.