This article proposes a new approach to the issue of the acceptability of food irradiation, based on the analysis of the discourse of opinion makers and the theory of social representations. Two rounds of public consultations were held in Canada concerning the regulation of irradiation. Through analysis of the participants’ discourse, the representations of risk that they expressed can be identified, and more can be learned about the social organization of the actors in the debate. By putting the results in perspective with the historical context, this article sheds new light on the influence that the discourse of opinion makers may have had on the regulatory and commercial fate of irradiation and on its acceptability among citizens-consumers.
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