Contact: Jodie Buller
(360) 336-5087x136
For Immediate Release
Radiation is broadly defined as energy moving through space in invisible waves. Radiant energy has differing wavelengths and degrees of power. The radiation of interest in food preservation is ionizing radiation, also known as irradiation. These shorter wavelengths are capable of damaging microorganisms such as those that contaminate food or cause food spoilage and deterioration. That capability, plus the fact that much of our food supply is lost due to spoilage and insects each year is why scientists have been experimenting with irradiation as a method of food preservation since 1950.
Irradiation has been approved for many uses in about 36 countries, but only a few applications are presently used because of consumer concern and because the facilities are expensive to build. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved irradiation for eliminating insects from wheat, potatoes, flour, spices, tea, fruits, and vegetables. Irradiation also can be used to control sprouting and ripening. Approval was given in 1985 to use irradiation on pork to control trichinosis. Using irradiation to control Salmonella and other harmful bacteria in chicken, turkey, and other fresh and frozen uncooked poultry was approved in May 1990. Current FDA irradiation projects include Raw Almonds, Raw Greens, and Supplements.
Masks the Unsanitary Condition of Factory FarmsIrradiation is an after the fact "solution" that does nothing to address the unsanitary conditions of factory farms, and actually creates a disincentive for producers and handlers to take preventative steps in production in handling. The longer shelf life created by irradiation (affording longer shipping distances) also provides greater opportunity for post-treatment contamination via shipping, handling, etc. Additionally, irradiation does not work to stop toxins produced by some bacteria (like botulism); viruses, like foot and mouth disease or hepatitis, are resistant to the irradiation doses used in food; and prions (thought to be the cause of BSE, or Mad Cow disease) are resistant as well.
Contributes to Consolidation of Agriculture Industry and Globalization of FoodThe motivation for expanding irradiation to additional categories of food may be less about getting rid of disease-causing organisms, and more about increasing market share in international trade. Irradiation can dramatically increase the shelf life of food. This gives corporations more flexibility in marketing and transportation, making it easier for large companies to move some operations to countries with lower labor costs and lower sanitary and safety standards. As in many other "outsourced" industries, American workers, farmers and ranchers, could lose their jobs. In other words, food irradiation supports globalization at its worst, where concerns over long-term health risks carry less weight than the lure of expanded markets. This furthers the consolidation of "Big Ag" companies and contributes to the destruction of small U.S. family farms - further degrading the security and diversity of our food supply.
In 1986, the Skagit Valley Food Co-op Board of Trustees passed a policy stating that the Mount Vernon Co-op will not knowingly sell any food that has been irradiated, “We felt that we could not support this reckless endangerment to our food supply” said Todd Wood, the Co-op’s General Manager. Until recently, the “radura” symbol on all irradiated food made that policy possible to enforce. In July of 2007 however, the FDA proposed a new rule to allow labeling of irradiated foods using the terms “electronically pasteurized” or “cold pasteurized”. Labeling irradiated foods as "pasteurized" is simply untruthful and misleading. Pasteurization involves heating liquids for the purpose of destroying harmful bacteria and other pathogens, and has been used safely for decades. Using high-energy gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays on foods - is a completely different process than pasteurization.
Radiation can do strange things to food, by creating substances called "unique radiolytic products." These irradiation byproducts include a variety of mutagens - substances that can cause gene mutations, polyploidy (an abnormal condition in which cells contain more than two sets of chromosomes), chromosome aberrations (often associated with cancerous cells), and dominant lethal mutations (a change in a cell that prevents it from reproducing) in human cells. Making matters worse, many mutagens are also carcinogens.
All food processing, including irradiation, results in some nutrient loss. Irradiated foods can lose from 2-95% of their vitamins. Irradiation breaks the bonds of fats, including omega-3 fatty acids, and doubles the amount of trans fats in beef. Irradiation also decreases vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects the polyunsaturated “good” fats, which protect the heart.
The food to be irradiated will often already be in its final package. This raises the question about whether the irradiation has any effect on the packaging that might be transferred to the foods. Many modern packaging materials have simply not been tested.
--Proper handling of dietary supplements under current good manufacturing practice is usually sufficient to ensure that they are not subject to microbial contamination that presents any risk to the health of consumers of these products.
--If approved, the use of ionizing irradiation on herbal dietary ingredients will mask one of the factors that is currently relevant to the determination of ingredient quality, since information about microbial levels and the presence of pathogens or yeasts and molds at any time during the handling of a treated ingredient would be lost.
--Proposed irradiation limits for dietary supplements are at 30kGY: 3 to 30 times higher than current allowances for all but two approved food categories. Dietary supplements may be consumed in quantities of several grams per day. Thus, dietary supplement consumers will be exposed to significantly higher levels of any material changes that occur in a supplement’s or ingredient’s characteristics or in its consequences of use, if any, as a result of the irradiation.
Sources for this article:
1. From Idaho State University’s Food Irradiation webpage
2. From http://www.centerforfoodsafety.com3. From http://www.citizen.org, FAQs with Registered Dietician Karen Graham
(360) 336-5087x136
For Immediate Release
The FDA Push to Irradiate Extends to Supplements, Despite Ongoing Concerns
Radiation is broadly defined as energy moving through space in invisible waves. Radiant energy has differing wavelengths and degrees of power. The radiation of interest in food preservation is ionizing radiation, also known as irradiation. These shorter wavelengths are capable of damaging microorganisms such as those that contaminate food or cause food spoilage and deterioration. That capability, plus the fact that much of our food supply is lost due to spoilage and insects each year is why scientists have been experimenting with irradiation as a method of food preservation since 1950.
Irradiation has been approved for many uses in about 36 countries, but only a few applications are presently used because of consumer concern and because the facilities are expensive to build. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved irradiation for eliminating insects from wheat, potatoes, flour, spices, tea, fruits, and vegetables. Irradiation also can be used to control sprouting and ripening. Approval was given in 1985 to use irradiation on pork to control trichinosis. Using irradiation to control Salmonella and other harmful bacteria in chicken, turkey, and other fresh and frozen uncooked poultry was approved in May 1990. Current FDA irradiation projects include Raw Almonds, Raw Greens, and Supplements.
Irradiation is Not the Solution to Food-Borne Illness
Using recent food-contamination scandals as a springboard, irradiation has been touted as the solution to food-borne illness in everything from spinach to deli meats. But government agencies have yet to take a good, hard look at the systemic food and agricultural problems that cause these tragic outbreaks in the first place.Masks the Unsanitary Condition of Factory FarmsIrradiation is an after the fact "solution" that does nothing to address the unsanitary conditions of factory farms, and actually creates a disincentive for producers and handlers to take preventative steps in production in handling. The longer shelf life created by irradiation (affording longer shipping distances) also provides greater opportunity for post-treatment contamination via shipping, handling, etc. Additionally, irradiation does not work to stop toxins produced by some bacteria (like botulism); viruses, like foot and mouth disease or hepatitis, are resistant to the irradiation doses used in food; and prions (thought to be the cause of BSE, or Mad Cow disease) are resistant as well.
Contributes to Consolidation of Agriculture Industry and Globalization of FoodThe motivation for expanding irradiation to additional categories of food may be less about getting rid of disease-causing organisms, and more about increasing market share in international trade. Irradiation can dramatically increase the shelf life of food. This gives corporations more flexibility in marketing and transportation, making it easier for large companies to move some operations to countries with lower labor costs and lower sanitary and safety standards. As in many other "outsourced" industries, American workers, farmers and ranchers, could lose their jobs. In other words, food irradiation supports globalization at its worst, where concerns over long-term health risks carry less weight than the lure of expanded markets. This furthers the consolidation of "Big Ag" companies and contributes to the destruction of small U.S. family farms - further degrading the security and diversity of our food supply.
Labeling of Irradiated Foods
In 1986, the Skagit Valley Food Co-op Board of Trustees passed a policy stating that the Mount Vernon Co-op will not knowingly sell any food that has been irradiated, “We felt that we could not support this reckless endangerment to our food supply” said Todd Wood, the Co-op’s General Manager. Until recently, the “radura” symbol on all irradiated food made that policy possible to enforce. In July of 2007 however, the FDA proposed a new rule to allow labeling of irradiated foods using the terms “electronically pasteurized” or “cold pasteurized”. Labeling irradiated foods as "pasteurized" is simply untruthful and misleading. Pasteurization involves heating liquids for the purpose of destroying harmful bacteria and other pathogens, and has been used safely for decades. Using high-energy gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays on foods - is a completely different process than pasteurization.
Radiation can do strange things to food, by creating substances called "unique radiolytic products." These irradiation byproducts include a variety of mutagens - substances that can cause gene mutations, polyploidy (an abnormal condition in which cells contain more than two sets of chromosomes), chromosome aberrations (often associated with cancerous cells), and dominant lethal mutations (a change in a cell that prevents it from reproducing) in human cells. Making matters worse, many mutagens are also carcinogens.
All food processing, including irradiation, results in some nutrient loss. Irradiated foods can lose from 2-95% of their vitamins. Irradiation breaks the bonds of fats, including omega-3 fatty acids, and doubles the amount of trans fats in beef. Irradiation also decreases vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects the polyunsaturated “good” fats, which protect the heart.
The food to be irradiated will often already be in its final package. This raises the question about whether the irradiation has any effect on the packaging that might be transferred to the foods. Many modern packaging materials have simply not been tested.
Citizens For Health, an online consumer watchdog group, is advocating against irradiation of supplements, for these reasons:
--Proper handling of dietary supplements under current good manufacturing practice is usually sufficient to ensure that they are not subject to microbial contamination that presents any risk to the health of consumers of these products.
--If approved, the use of ionizing irradiation on herbal dietary ingredients will mask one of the factors that is currently relevant to the determination of ingredient quality, since information about microbial levels and the presence of pathogens or yeasts and molds at any time during the handling of a treated ingredient would be lost.
--Proposed irradiation limits for dietary supplements are at 30kGY: 3 to 30 times higher than current allowances for all but two approved food categories. Dietary supplements may be consumed in quantities of several grams per day. Thus, dietary supplement consumers will be exposed to significantly higher levels of any material changes that occur in a supplement’s or ingredient’s characteristics or in its consequences of use, if any, as a result of the irradiation.
Sources for this article:
1. From Idaho State University’s Food Irradiation webpage
2. From http://www.centerforfoodsafety.com3. From http://www.citizen.org, FAQs with Registered Dietician Karen Graham
