The potential of the radiation technologies to improve the quality of dietary supplements

Abstract

The use of dietary supplements has much increased over recent decades, principally due to the need to correct dietary deficiencies but also for their supportive role in certain medical treatments. While they are regulated as food, with certain specific regulations and requirements that distinguish them from conventional foods, the manufacturers can choose to adhere to higher standards, that allows them a future upgrade as pharmaceuticals or medical devices. This paper presents the results of exploratory studies for the introduction of gamma irradiation as a method of control of the microbial contamination for egg lyophilizates currently marketed as dietary supplements. Characterization studies were performed with the goal of upgrading the products for the pharmaceutical market. The irradiation treatment improved their microbiological quality by the exerted microbicidal effect and it can be used as long as the other properties (physico-chemical and/or therapeutic) are not affected.