ARS | Publication request: TOXICOLOGY TESTING OF THE UNIQUE RADIOLYTIC PRODUCT 2-DODECYLCYCLOBUTANONE

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: October 15, 2005
Publication Date: December 13, 2005
Citation: Sommers, C.H. 2005. Toxicology testing of the unique radiolytic product 2-dodecylcyclobutanone [abstract]. American Chemical Society. p.1.

Technical Abstract: Treatment of foods containing fatty acids, including meat and poultry, with ionizing radiation can lead to the formation of a class of chemicals called 2-alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) that are unique to irradiated foods. The major 2-ACB formed in irradiated meat is 2 dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB), which is formed by the radiolysis of palmitic acid. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that indirect food additives consumed in quantities greater than 1.5 'g per day be tested for safety. On average, approximately 6.0 'g of 2-DCB is present in an irradiated, and then cooked, 125 g ground beef patty, which exceeds the 1.5 'g/day limit. Because of the availability of irradiated ground beef as part of the National School Lunch Program in the U.S. “consumer groups” opposed to food irradiation have requested that 2-DCB be tested in appropriate genotoxicity assays, even though irradiated meats have been extensively tested for safety in animal studies, and have been approved by the FDA for consumption by humans. In order to address the question of 2-DCB genotoxicity the purified compound was tested in 6 genotoxicity tests including bacterial reverse mutation assays, a 5-flouro-uracil mutagenesis assay, the yeast DEL assay, the Pro-ToxTM Assay, and for the formation of 6-thioguanine resistant mutants in human TK6 lymphoblasts. No 2-DCB induced mutagenesis was observed in any of the test systems, both with and without exogenous metabolic activation.