Economic aspects of food irradiation

This paper is dealing with the irradiated foods world market quantitative and economic volume' estimating in 29 countries. The irradiation exposure technology development is presented in order to prospects in Russia. The main irradiated foods categories such as spices, herbs, dry vegetables, fruits, frozen and chilled meat, including frog legs, seafood, grains and others are identified. It is shown the quantitative dividing irradiated foods world market is between China (37,60%), USA (19,36%), Ukraine (14,74%), Vietnam (12,41%), Brazil (5,62%), South Africa (4,10%), Indonesia (1.30 percent), Japan (1,17%), Belgium (1,10%). The remaining 20 States took a share of 2.6%. The irradiated products world market’ economic volume amounting to 17,136.56 million rubles, is divided between the USA (48,64%), China (16,26%), Brazil (14,53%), South Africa (of 10.18%), Vietnam (of 5.88%), Indonesia (1,04%). The remaining 24 countries took a share of 3.48% while share each of them amounting less than 1%. It is revealed that the most expensive irradiated foods’ category is "spices and herbs", least – "vegetables", "cereals". The research results are shown the Russian potential irradiated foods volume consisting of meat products, the main vegetable crops, food ingredients, spices and food is about 10 million tons, more than 12 million tons, about 200 thousand tons per year respectively. The meat and poultry total production was 9,899.2 thousand tons in carcass weight, yield of grain and leguminous was 120,671.79 thousand tons; spices raw was 97.5 thousand tons, potatoes was 31,107.80 thousand tones, vegetables (excluding melons) was 16,283.34 thousand tons, forage crops (except grasses) was 27,674.15 thousand tons in 2016 in Russia. Therefore 100% of meat, 74% of vegetables and about 1% of spices and animal feeds may be subjected to radiation in Russia. Despite the advanced technology and status as a leader in the agricultural radiology and radioecology field commercial irradiation is not carried out in Russia due to the need for in-depth irradiated foods' influence study of biochemical, physical-chemical, molecular-genetic processes in the human body and the representatives of agrobiocenosis.