Page 19 - Professorial Lecture - Prof Oyedele

In Food Preservation

An effective method of preserving food is “food irradiation”. The irradiation
(or treatment with ionizing radiation) preserves the food by destroying the
micro-organisms that normally cause spoilage, and there is no significant
change in taste or nutritional value due to the irradiation. Also, the
irradiation prolongs the shelf-life of foods by slowing the ripening process
and inhibiting the sprouting of root vegetables like potatoes and onions.

In Agriculture

Ionizing radiation is being used to eradicate pests. The method used is
called the “sterile male” technique and it involves rearing and sterilizing very
many insects by using ionizing radiation (or by irradiation) and then
dispersing them over the area of interest (or large farm). The subsequent
unproductive mating of sterile males and wild females eventually leads to
the eradication of the species. Soil moisture content is also determined by
using ionizing radiation. There are many other applications and these form
the main focus of the IAEA set-up by the United Nations.