EU legislation: Irradiation of food (ionising radiation)

If you want to export food products to the EU and you use irradiation as food preservation, you have to make sure that all legal requirements are met. At the moment EU legislation only allows irradiation of dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings, but Member States may allow the irradiation of other product groups in their national legislation.

This document provides information on the allowed products, the conditions when the use of irradiation is allowed, the labelling requirements for irradiated products and specific requirements set for irradiated food products imported from countries outside the EU

For more information on the additional requirements in EU Member States, refer to the overview document at the bottom of this page.

Please note that at the bottom of this page, a new document with the implementation of this legislation in all Member States is presented.