The possibilities of using radiation for food preservation as a way of alleviating the food deficiency problem in a large part of the world has been studied for some 20 years. Since the idea was recognized as a viable one, scientists had to develop it along three levels: firstly, the technological problems and economic viability had to be faced; at the same time tests had to be initiated to prove the wholesomeness of the irradiated foodstuffs, and then public acceptance and confidence in the end product had to be established. Work is proceeding along these three lines and in some cases, success has been won on all fronts. In others, it is continuing. As a FLASHBACK to the situation TWO YEARS AGO, we thought it interesting to reprint excerpts from a round-table discussion at which scientists from five countries sat down to discuss the pros and cons of food irradiation. ost at the gathering was Dr. Rocco Basson, Director of Chemistry at Pelindaba, South Africa, and the man responsible for directing radiation processing in that country. With him were Dr. Lapidot, Head of the Radiation and Engineering and Processing Section of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission at Soreq; Dr. Saint-Lebe of the Radioagronomy Service, French Atomic Energy Commission, at Cadarache; Dr. Ulmann, then Director of the Food Irradiation Pilot Plant at Wageningen in Holland; and Mr. Roy Hickman, leader of the International Project in the Field of Irradiation, sponsored by the FAO, IAEA and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, centred at Karlsruhe in Germany.
