U.S. Approves Irradiation to Guard Meat Safety
By Julie Vorman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators Tuesday approved the use of irradiation to kill food-borne bacteria in beef, lamb
and pork amid worries by consumer groups that the procedure may be oversold as a solution to growing outbreaks of food
contamination.
After a record U.S. recall of 25 million pounds of tainted hamburger in August, the meat and food industries lobbied hard for
Food and Drug Administration approval of tiny doses of gamma rays or X-rays to kill bacteria and parasites in beef.
Irradiation, first used by NASA to sterilize food for astronauts, is widely used to control insects and disease in fruits,
vegetables, grains and spices. The FDA approved its use with poultry several years ago, but it is rarely used.
"Irradiation of meat could prove to be another important tool to protect consumers from food-borne disease," said Michael
Friedman, deputy FDA commissioner. "The process has been shown to be safe and to significantly reduce bacterial
contamination."
After three years of study, the FDA concluded that irradiation does not make meat radioactive, nor does it noticeably change
taste, texture or appearance.
Consumers are not likely to find packages of irradiated meat at their grocery stores any time soon.
The U.S. Agriculture Department, which has authority over meat inspections, must first modify its regulations over the next few
months to include irradiation. The agency hopes to complete that process by mid-1998, a USDA spokeswoman said.
Consumer groups contend that scientists need to find better ways to treat food safety problems on the farm.
"Irradiation is definitely being oversold as a solution to food safety problems by the food industry," said Caroline Smith DeWaal
of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
"It isn't the right approach to take a filthy product and irradiate it to make it sterile. We need to make sure that the filth is
removed earlier in the process," DeWaal said.
Although the FDA review did not include costs of the technology, experts have estimated irradiation could cost consumers
about five cents per pound. That would add about $2 per person to annual grocery bills based on average consumption of
about 33 pounds of hamburger.
IBP Inc, the nation's largest beef processor, plans to test irradiation's effect on the color and flavor of beef.
"It will ultimately be up to the consumer to determine if this is an acceptable process," an IBP spokesman said.
Food industry groups welcomed the FDA action.
"In order to maintain the safest food supply in the world, the beef industry needs the flexibility to use new technologies as they
become available," said Van Amundson of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Even with irradiation, consumers must cook meat thoroughly and use safe food-handling procedures, the USDA said.
Steam pasteurization of beef, pulsed light beamed onto meat and a sterilizing rinse for poultry are other procedures that have
been approved by regulators, but all kill only bacteria and germs on the surface of the animal. Irradiation penetrates the meat to
kill internal parasites, and can be used after meat is packaged for shipment to grocery stores.
Some scientists are also investigating potential inoculations of farm animals that could prevent them from carrying E. coli that
occurs normally in the intestinal tract.
The public's growing nervousness about outbreaks of E. coli, salmonella, cyclospora and other food-borne diseases prompted
the Clinton administration to launch a food safety initiative that includes legislation to give USDA more authority over meat
recalls, adding inspectors to check domestic and imported produce and rolling out mandatory safety programs at meat, poultry
and seafood processing plants.
More than 35 countries use irradiation, which was approved earlier this year by the World Health Organization.
The agency action came after Isomedix Inc, a New Jersey maker of medical equipment, petitioned the agency in 1994 to
approve irradiation of red meat. The company was acquired by Steris Corp for $142 million in September. |
