The present work was carried out to

The present work was carried out to
check the application of the test for several cereals and
nuts and to find out suitable working conditions for the
DNA Comet Assay for identification of irradiated and
non-irradiated samples. It should be emphasized, however,
that DNA fragmentation can be caused by various
chemical or physical treatments including ionizing
radiation, and this means that the assay is not radiation
specific and can only be used as a screening technique.
But since it is a rapid and simple technique it is of great
value to screen samples suspect of irradiation by this
rapid test, and consequently confirm positive results
using a standardized method to specifically prove an
irradiation treatment, e.g. using thermoluminescence
measurements (Delinc
ee, 1998).