| Popis: |
An experiment was conducted in which male and female mice of four different strains, namely DBA, Swiss, C3H, and C57 black were fed for the duration of their life a mixture of foods (fruit compote, beef, tuna fish, sweet potato, and corn), all of which had been irradiated with 5.58 megarads of gamma radiation. A total of 2834 mice were used in the experiment. These mice were distributed at random, and divided equally, in two groups: one which was fed the irradiated diet, and one which received the control diet, identical in composition to the experimental diet except that is was not irradiated. At the death of these animals, each was subjected to a careful examination. All tumors found were examined histopathologically and were classified and tabulated according to type. Analysis of the tumor incidence of the mice fed the control diet and the mice fed the irradiated diet showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups. It is therefore concluded that gamma irradiation (5.58 megarads) of the foods used in this experiment did not render them carcinogenic for mice. An experiment such as this in which several strains of mice were used (some of which are known to be prone to develop certain types of cancer) is probably the best presently available method of testing a food intended for human consumption for carcinogenicity. Therefore, it would appear that irradiation sterilization with 5.58 megarads of gamma radiation does not increase the carcinogenic hazard of these types of food for men. |
