One of the early successful applications of irradiation in the preservation of foodstuffs was the inhibition of sprout formation in potatoes as outlined by Sparrow et at. (18,20,21). I n work reported by Sparrow and Christensen (19) sprouting was greatly reduced at dosages of 5,000 rep. and coinpletely inhibited at 20,ooO rep. or higher.Sawyer (15,16) found that dosages of around 10,000 rep. or higher completely inhibited sprouting regardless of the storage temperature. Brownell (3) reported dosages of from 10,000 to 15,000 rep. as minimums necessary for complete sprout inhibition.I n more recent work Burton and Hannan (5) reported sprout suppression at much lower dosages of 3,500 to 8,500 rep.Along with the beneficial effect of sprout inhibition has come an undesirable effect of rotting of the tubers after irradiation at the higher levels.Brownell (3) found that following dosages of 19,000 to 200,000 rep. periderrn formation was inhibited and suberization was delayed. Therefore, under certain conditions rot could occur as a result of infections in cuts and bruises which occur after irradiation. If bruising occurred and the samples were irradiated at the higher dosages before the tubers had a chance to form periderm, these bruises would then offer likely entrances for rot-causing organisms.The effect of irradiation upon ascorbic acid has been investigated by several workers. Proctor and Goldblith (13) in studying the effect of X-rays produced at 50 KV on pure solutions found ascorbic acid to be more radiosensitive than either niacin or riboflavin. Anderson ( I ) found that half of the ascorbic acid content was destroyed when solutions of approximately 4 mcg.per ml. were exposed to 5,500 rep. of X-rays produced at 185 KV.In complex systems ascorbic acid losses are somewhat less than in pure solutions. Proctor and O'Meara (14) found considerable loss of ascorbic acid in orange juice irradiated by high voltage cathode rays. Rung and Gaden (7) found that ascorbic acid was destroyed to a considerable degree when evaporated milk, cream, cheese, butter and margarine were exposed to ionizing radiation dosages of 8 x 10 rep. to 2 x 10 rep. for periods of 1 to 12 hours. Both Brownell (4) and Sawyer (15) have shown losses of reduced ascorbic acid in irradiated potatoes. Sereno (17) indicated an initial loss of ascorbic acid immediately after irradiation, followed by an arresting of this a This paper reports research undertaken in cooperation with the Quartermaster Food
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