Can UV disinfection lamps be used to process food?

In food processing plants, the food processed daily on the production line is generally sterilized. This is because the UVC ultraviolet lamp sterilization method has the characteristics of environmental protection, rapid disinfection, no secondary pollution and low cost. It is also the mainstream method of sterilization and disinfection in the food processing industry. In particular, the outbreak of the new crown epidemic has stricter requirements on the food processing industry and has become the first choice for the food processing industry.

In the food processing industry, UVC has been very popular, but it is a bit embarrassing to spread in the daily life of ordinary people, especially for the disinfection of household food. The common people’s understanding of ultraviolet rays is still at the “primary stage” level. Due to the insufficient understanding of UVC ultraviolet rays, people are often worried that there will be residual ultraviolet radiation on the surface of sterilized food. Secondly, they are also worried that the food that has been irradiated by the most ultraviolet rays will fail. Will cause changes in its own traits.

So, can the irradiated food be eaten, and is there any ultraviolet radiation residue on the surface of the food?

In terms of disinfection methods, the sterilization results of heating and ultraviolet disinfection are the same. Ultraviolet rays are electromagnetic radiation between 10 nanometers and 400 nanometers. When bacteria in food are irradiated by the UVC band, deep ultraviolet rays are absorbed by bacteria and viruses and will destroy the DNA base pairs of bacteria or viruses and make them unable to replicate. The DNA molecules destroyed by ultraviolet rays are decomposed after entering the human body, and no harmful substances are produced. Therefore, when it is used to sterilize food, there is no safety problem, and the food that has been treated by the ultraviolet lamp can be enjoyed boldly.