Food Irradiation Archives

Fouling our food supply. (Archive in food irradiation.)

Friends,

FYI.

Walt

> Does this concern anyone else?
> Misty
> http://www.searching-alternatives.com
>
> U.S. Food Industry Begins To Embrace Irradiation
> By Jerry Bieszk
> 2-5-3
>
> CHICAGO (Reuters) - Stung by record recalls of tainted meat last
> year, the U.S. food industry is stepping up the use of new
> technology to irradiate meat as an extra protection against deadly
> bacteria such as E. coli and listeria.
>
> Just a small part of the 9 billion pounds of ground beef sold in the
> United States last year was irradiated, but the amount is growing
> rapidly, despite concerns voiced by some consumer groups about the
> unknown long-term effects on health.
>
> "I would estimate the total volume currently being irradiated under
> 5 percent (of beef production), but we are anticipating an
> exponential growth curve," said Janet Riley, spokeswoman for the
> American Meat Institute (AMI).
>
> Irradiation exposes products to ionizing radiation that kills
> insects, molds and bacteria. The U.S. government approved
> irradiation treatment of ground beef in January 2000, and the first
> batch was processed in May of that year.
>
> BIG INCREASES
>
> Irradiation began to ramp up late last year after the largest meat
> recall in U.S. history. In October, Pilgrim's Pride Corp. recalled
> 27.4 million pounds of poultry products because of an outbreak of
> listeria, a potentially deadly bacteria. The outbreak that prompted
> the recall was blamed for killing eight people and making more than
> 40 sick.
>
> The U.S. Agriculture Department said this week that 60 percent of
> the largest U.S. meat plants failed to meet federal food safety
> regulations for preventing the E. coli bacteria in their products.
> The bacteria causes an estimated 73,000 infections and 61 deaths in
> the United States each year, according to government data.
>
> Food companies see irradiation as another barrier of protection
> against bacteria that can cause food-borne illness, especially to
> protect children, the elderly and those with weakened immune
> systems.
>
> SureBeam Corp., the largest provider of the technology, said it
> expects to process between 300 million and 350 million pounds of
> beef this year, up from about 15 million in 2002.
>
> "Irradiation eliminates 99.9 percent of the pathogens such as E.
> coli, salmonella and listeria without changing the taste, texture,
> appearance or nutritional value of the meat," said John Fox,
> associate professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State
> University. "In spite of its name, the process cannot make food
> radioactive."
>
> The Food and Drug Administration permits three types of ionizing
> radiation on foods: gamma rays, high-energy electrons and X-rays.
>
> Irradiation is widely used to sterilize many non-food products,
> including toothbrushes, home-use adhesive bandage strips and
> surgical tools, although at doses much higher than used for food.
> Irradiation has been used to kill insects in wheat flour since 1963
> and used on common kitchen spices since 1983.
>
> Still, critics say irradiation may deplete vitamins and nutrients,
> and that irradiated food contains chemical byproducts that may be
> harmful. They say irradiation is an effort by meat packers and
> processors to cover up sloppy food-handling processes.
>
> Washington-based consumer group Public Citizen, for example, is
> calling for studies on the long-term effects of treated meat on
> children. In the meantime, they oppose the use of irradiation for
> beef supplied by the Agriculture Department for school meals.
>
> "A decision to feed schoolchildren irradiated food would mean this
> agency (USDA) is willing to put our children's health at risk to
> help cover up the meat industry's sanitary failures," said Wenonah
> Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critcal Mass Energy and
> Environment Program.
>
> Also, if irradiated food is permitted in school lunches, it will not
> be labeled in the way that irradiated retail food must be, making it
> impossible for parents to know what school cafeterias are feeding
> their children, critics point out.
>
> The FDA requires irradiated meat be labeled with a symbol resembling
> a stylized flower and the words "treated by irradiation."
>
> IMMEDIATE BENEFITS
>
> Meat industry experts said irradiation is no "silver bullet" and
> proper food handling at home remains critical. Meat can be
> contaminated by residue from other foods or by utensils used to
> prepare other meals. Cooking of ground beef to an internal
> temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (72 degrees Celsius) can kill
> E. coli and listeria, the Beef Council said.
>
> Still, the proven benefits are clearly winning over many consumers
> and health care officials, and use of the technology is taking off.
>
> A nationwide survey conducted by the National Cattlemen's Beef
> Association found that 48 percent of Americans would purchase
> irradiated meat. That response in November 2002 was up from 38
> percent in February. Industry officials said that small doses of
> irradiation should not affect the taste of the meat.
>
> The World Health Organization has endorsed irradiation, saying it is
> one of the most effective food decontamination methods available for
> meat and poultry products.
>
> "On the average, one major retail (food) chain has rolled out
> irradiated ground beef every week basically since last August," said
> Ron Eustice, executive director of the Minnesota Beef Council. He
> said about 4,000 supermarkets carry either fresh irradiated ground
> beef or frozen products.
>
> Supermarket companies Safeway Inc., Albertson's Inc. and Giant Eagle
> Inc. have all signed on to sell irradiated meat at some of their
> stores.
>
> MEAT PROCESSORS TAKE ACTION
>
> The number of packers and processors irradiating beef is growing
> rapidly. They are beginning to contract for irradiation capability
> in their plants instead of at remote locations.
>
> Excel, a division of Minnesota-based Cargill Inc., plans to install
> electron beam irradiation facilities at its packing plants in
> Schuyler, Nebraska, and Plano, Texas. Rochester, Minnesota-based
> TeMeats, and Minnesota-based W.W. Johnson Co. have announced plans
> to market irradiated product.
>
> The former ConAgra Foods Inc. slaughterhouse in Greeley, Colorado,
> now operating as Swift and Co., has committed more than $4 million
> to increase food safety and plans later this year to have some of
> its meat irradiated. In July, the plant was the focal point of the
> third-largest beef recall in history when the company recalled
> almost 19 million pounds of beef because of E. coli concerns.
>
> "Irradiated ground beef will become the gold standard at food
> service in the next two to three years," said the Minnesota Beef
> Council's Eustice. "Food irradiation will take its rightful place as
> the fourth pillar of public health alongside pasteurization of milk,
> immunization against disease and chlorination of our water supply --
> and that will take place in the next decade."
>
>
>
>
>