Editing Food irradiation (section)

== Historical timeline ==
* 1895 [[Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen]] discovers X-rays ("[[bremsstrahlung]]", from German for radiation produced by deceleration)
* 1896 [[Antoine Henri Becquerel]] discovers natural radioactivity; Minck proposes the therapeutic use<ref>Minck, F. (1896) Zur Frage über die Einwirkung der Röntgen'schen Strahlen auf Bacterien und ihre eventuelle therapeutische Verwendbarkeit. Münchener Medicinische Wochenschrift 43 (5), 101-102.</ref>
* 1904 Samuel Prescott describes the bactericide effects [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prescott |first1=S. C. |title=The Effect of Radium Rays on the Colon Bacillus, the Diphtheria Bacillus and Yeast |journal=Science |date=19 August 1904 |volume=20 |issue=503 |pages=246–248 |doi=10.1126/science.20.503.246.c |pmid=17797891 |jstor=1631163 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2042740 }}</ref>
* 1906 Appleby & Banks: UK patent to use radioactive isotopes to irradiate particulate food in a flowing bed<ref>Appleby, J. and Banks, A. J. Improvements in or relating to the treatment of food, more especially cereals and their products. British patent GB 1609 (January 4, 1906).</ref>
* 1918 Gillett: U.S. Patent to use X-rays for the preservation of food<ref>D.C. Gillet, Apparatus for preserving organic materials by the use of x-rays, US Patent No. 1,275,417 (August 13, 1918)</ref>
* 1921 Schwartz describes the elimination of Trichinella from food<ref>{{cite journal | author = Schwartz B | year = 1921 | title = Effect of X-rays on Trichinae | journal = Journal of Agricultural Research | volume = 20 | pages = 845–854 }}</ref>
* 1930 Wuest: French patent on food irradiation<ref>O. Wüst, Procédé pour la conservation d'aliments en tous genres, Brevet d'invention no.701302 (July 17, 1930)</ref>
* 1943 MIT becomes active in the field of food preservation for the U.S. Army<ref>Physical Principles of Food Preservation: Von Marcus Karel, Daryl B. Lund, CRC Press, 2003 {{ISBN|0-8247-4063-7}}, S. 462 ff.</ref>
* 1951 U.S. Atomic Energy Commission begins to co-ordinate national research activities
* 1958 World first commercial food irradiation (spices) at Stuttgart, Germany<ref name="maurer">K.F. Maurer, Zur Keimfreimachung von Gewürzen, Ernährungswirtschaft 5(1958) nr.1, 45–47</ref>
* 1963 FDA approves food irradiation. NASA begins irradiating astronaut food items to prevent food borne illness during space missions.
* 1970 Establishment of the International Food Irradiation Project (IFIP), headquarters at the Federal Research Centre for Food Preservation, Karlsruhe, Germany
* 1980 [[FAO]]/[[IAEA]]/[[WHO]] Joint Expert Committee on Food Irradiation recommends the clearance generally up to 10 kGy "overall average dose"<ref name="JECFI"/>
* 1981/1983 End of IFIP after reaching its goals
* 1983 Codex Alimentarius General Standard for Irradiated Foods: any food at a maximum "overall average dose" of 10 kGy
* 1984 International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation (ICGFI) becomes the successor of IFIP
* 1986 January People's Republic of China opens their first food irradiation facility in Shanghai<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wedekind |first1=Lothar H. |year=1986 |title=China's move to food irradiation |journal=IAEA Bulletin |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=53–57 |url=https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/28205715357.pdf |access-date=July 25, 2022 |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116201905/https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/28205715357.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1994 India approves irradiation of spices, potato and onion.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sharma |first1=Arun |last2=Madhusoodanan |first2=P. |title=Techno-commercial aspects of food irradiation in India |journal=Radiation Physics and Chemistry |date=1 August 2012 |volume=81 |issue=8 |pages=1208–1210 |doi=10.1016/j.radphyschem.2011.11.033 |bibcode=2012RaPC...81.1208S }}</ref>
* 1997 FAO/IAEA/WHO Joint Study Group on High-Dose Irradiation recommends to lift any upper dose limit<ref name="JSGHDI"/>
* 1998 The European Union's Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) voted in favour of eight categories of irradiation applications<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out15_en.html Scientific Committee on Food. 15.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516195055/http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out15_en.html |date=May 16, 2014 }}</ref>
* 1999 The European Union adopts [[Directives (European Union)|Directives]] 1999/2/EC (framework Directive)<ref>{{cite web| url = https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:31999L0002| title = Directive 1999/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 February 1999 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning foods and food ingredients treated with ionising radiation| date = February 22, 1999| access-date = January 4, 2021| archive-date = November 18, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211118204112/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:31999L0002| url-status = live}}</ref> and 1999/3/EC (implementing Directive)<ref>{{cite web| url = https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:31999L0003| title = Directive 1999/3/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 February 1999 on the establishment of a Community list of foods and food ingredients treated with ionising radiation| date = February 22, 1999| access-date = January 4, 2021| archive-date = October 13, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211013195847/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A31999L0003| url-status = live}}</ref> limiting irradiation a positive list whose sole content is one of the eight categories approved by the SCF, but allowing the individual states to give clearances for any food previously approved by the SCF.
* 2000 Germany leads a veto on a measure to provide a final draft for the positive list.
* 2003 Codex Alimentarius General Standard for Irradiated Foods: no longer any upper dose limit
* 2003 The SCF adopts a "revised opinion" that recommends against the cancellation of the upper dose limit.<ref name="SCF Revision">[http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out193_en.pdf Scientific Committee on Food. Revised opinion #193.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903171911/http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out193_en.pdf |date=September 3, 2014 }}</ref>
* 2004 ICGFI ends
* 2011 The successor to the SCF, [[European Food Safety Authority]] (EFSA), reexamines the SCF's list and makes further recommendations for inclusion.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Statement summarising the Conclusions and Recommendations from the Opinions on the Safety of Irradiation of Food adopted by the BIOHAZ and CEF Panels|author=European Food Safety Authority|journal=EFSA Journal|volume=9|issue=4|year=2011|page=2107|doi=10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2107|doi-access=free}}</ref>