Schools get irradiated beef, parents get note home
By LANCE GAY
Scripps Howard News Service
May 29, 2003
Finally! The people who die from bad hamburger would be alive if the Wackos had not been in the way. Maybe this will lead to all meat being irradiated.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday announced it will offer irradiated meat in the school lunch program starting January, but it wants local school boards to notify parents if they opt to include sanitized meats served in school meals.
Facing strong opposition to the policy from parents and consumer groups, the agency said it has no choice but to offer irradiated meat to the 27 million children fed under the school lunch program because Congress directed in last year's farm bill that the USDA make use of irradiation. The technology can kill most dangerous food pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella
Eric Bost, undersecretary of agriculture for food, nutrition and consumer services, said each school district will have the option of deciding whether it wants the Agriculture Department to provide the schools in their districts irradiated or nonirradiated beef in January 2004.
In a letter to the school districts, Bost urged school boards to notify parents in advance of their decision and consider giving clear notice when irradiated meat is served on monthly menus distributed to parents - or "appropriate signage on the serving line" where children get their meals.
"While USDA does not have the authority to require that schools inform parents and students about whether or not the district will be ordering irradiated beef, USDA is strongly encouraging schools to provide information to students, teachers, food service personnel, school administrators, parents and caregivers as part of the decision-making process," he said.
The agency said Thursday it is preparing to send educational materials to school districts next month that could be used to inform parents about irradiation, but irradiated product won't be included in the school lunch program until January 2004 to give local school boards the option of making their choice on whether to participate.
Consumers groups said irradiation would not be needed if meat slaughtering plants followed proper sanitation procedures to keep fecal contamination out of the food supply.
Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's critical mass energy and environmental program, said the government is ignoring public will by approving the use of irradiation. She said that 91 percent of parents and children commenting on the USDA rule were opposed to the technology.
"This horrendous decision benefits the meat industry at the expense of society's most vulnerable citizens - our children," she said. "Approving irradiated meat for school cafeterias nationwide means the USDA is willing to put our children's health at risk to help cover up the meat industry's sanitation failures."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved irradiation for food in 1997, and several supermarkets are offering irradiated ground beef in their freezer displays. The USDA noted in its statement that irradiation is only a tool in protecting consumers from food-borne illnesses and does not guarantee an absolutely sterile product.
Gaye Lynn Macdonald, president of the American School Food Service Association representing 57,000 officials at the local level involved in the school lunch program, said she was pleased the federal government is asking local school boards to make decisions on irradiation.
"Local decisions tend to be the best decisions," she said.
James Hodges, president of the American Meat Institute, called irradiation opponents "misinformed and alarmist." He said the technology is already used in more than 40 nations, and has been subjected to "decades of exhaustive research" showing that it is safe.
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