Qualitative and quantitative thermoluminescence analysis on irradiated oregano

Thermolumincscence (TL) dosimetry is one of the physical methods used for the identification of irradiated food, suitable for foods from which silicate minerals can be extracted. The aims of the present work were to apply the TL analysis for a qualitative identification of irradiated oregano, and to set tip a quantitative procedure to estimate the original treatment dose on the sample. The experimental results show that the TL analysis allows to distinguish irradiated oregano even seven months after the treatment. The additive dose procedure gives a rough estimation of the treatment dose, but can be helpful when the TL ratio method is unsatisfactory. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.