Microorganism survival curve and food safety of irradiated honey

Last year, more than 10000 tons of honey 1 were produced in Ardabil Province in Iran, and the highest quality honey in this province is produced on the slopes of Sabalan Mountain, and the honey produced on the slopes of this mountain is the most famous honey in Iran. Therefore, this project was carried out to determine the level of contamination of honey in this region with microorganisms, and 50 samples of honey were prepared from different areas around Sabalan Mountain. The samples were cultured, and the honey samples from the two areas with the highest level of contamination were the target of this research. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the effect of gamma radiation on population statistics, determine the survival curve and radiosensitivity coefficient of these microorganisms, and the effect of gamma radiation sterilization on honey, and determine the permissible dose that does not change the quality and food safety of honey. 1 H. Ahmadi, 2024 . Beekeepers in Ardabil province have produced 10295 tons of honey this year. IRNA News Agency, 27 November. To carry out this research, 50 honey farms were randomly selected around the Sabalan Mountains, which are the hub of honey production. 50 honey Samples that selected from these farms, cultivated and the grown colonies counted. The two type of honey samples which showed the most contamination counts selected for sudy. 7 samples were gotten from each of this two type of honey and these 2 × 7 samples irradiated by Cobalt 60 source by doses of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 kGy. The irradiated samples were cultivated and the number of grown colonies were counted. The survival curve was measured for these two types of honey that showed the most contamination and their radiosensitivity coefficient was obtained. The results showed that the coefficient of these two types of honey is slightly different from each other. Also, the obtained survival curve showed that the survival of microorganisms is possible up to a dose of 15 kGy. FTIR spectra took from all samples. The FTIR results showed, there was no change in the chemical bonds of honey samples up to a dose of 15 kGy. The test results on the physical, chemical and nutritional properties of honey samples showed that the most appropriate dose to preserve color, taste, shape and nutritional value for sterilizing honey is 15 kGy. Comparison of our results with the others showed 15 kGy dose is enough to sterilization of honey and irradiation of isolated microorganism directly from pollen could be sterilized below 5 kGy dose.