Potential use of the activation energy value calculated from the thermoluminescence glow curves to detect irradiated food

We herein report on the calculation of the activation energy (E (a)) from the thermoluminescence (TL) glow curves performed by the initial rise method that allows us to discriminate between irradiated and non-irradiated sesame seeds. E (a) values of natural TL (0.68 +/- A 0.03 eV) and gamma-induced TL (never lower than 0.82 +/- A 0.02 eV) appear as a complementary criterion to be used differentiating between irradiated and non-irradiated foodstuffs with the position and the intensity of the main peak of the TL emission. In addition, E (a) values taken from irradiated sesame samples at different doses (1, 5 and 10 kGy) and stored up to 15 months after being processed were compared to a 'positive' Spanish blend (i.e. at least one component was commercially irradiated).