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 ± 0.03 eV) and gamma-induced TL (never lower than 0.82 ± 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).