The irradiation of food kills bacteria and thus retards spoilage  However, it also lowers the nutritional value of many foods  For example, irradiation destroys a significant percentage of whatever vitamin B1 a food may contain  Proponents of irradiation point out that irradiation is no worse in this respect than cooking
However, this fact is either beside the point, since much irradiated food is eaten raw, or else misleading, since
for food that is both irradiated and cooked, the reduction of vitamin B1 associated with either process individually is compounded