Less than half of the fruits and vegetables consumed by the United States population are organic, pure foods. Food irradiation is new technology designed to remove disease-causing germs. Using multiple forms of radiation, the goal is to clean foods and keep those foods fresher, longer. But how safe can adding more chemicals and radiation really be? Food irradiation is the usage of ionizing radiations from radioactive forms of cobalt or cesium that generate measured amounts of beta, alpha, or x-rays on food. Studies have shown that irradiation can be used to prevent food borne illness by removing pesticides, increasing shelf life, and aids in spoil reduction. Research on food irradiation began as early as 1905. Throughout the years the Disease
