To: Amy Mitchell who wrote (1815 ) 12/8/1997 7:15:00 PM From: Jeffrey L. Henken Respond to of 4356
I thought everyone might enjoy reading Peter's letter to the editor. So I registered for the NY Times Online and hear it is below. Unfortunately I was unable to pull up anything from THE JOURNAL NEWS. They must not be online. If anyone wants information on how to get the NY TIMES ONLINE let me know although the good Captain Nemo has already done so. Also thanks to Sandie for the joke. Here's the letter: Ozone is superior To the Editor: Your Dec. 4 front-page article on the use of irradiation to treat meat and other foods only mentions in passing another technology that holds great promise but is superior to irradiation: ozone purification. As with irradiation, the use of ozone in the treatment of foods has also received Food and Drug Administration approval and is about to be tested in a large-scale installation by a major meat processor. And like irradiation, it has also been used in Europe, as well as in the United States, mostly in the purification of municipal water supplies and bottled water, as well as clothing in commercial laundries and in the storage of produce and cheese. In testing by the Cyclopss Corporation of Salt Lake City, ozone purification has been found to be effective against E. coli, salmonella and other pathogens. Yet it has none of the disadvantages of rradiation. It is cheaper to implement; oxygen is its only byproduct; it does not involve the production, transport, use and disposal of radioactive materials. It also has many other applications -- for example, the sterilization of medical instruments and equipment and as a replacement for chlorine in the treatment of municipal water supplies and wastewater. PETER WOLFF Madison, Wis., Dec. 4, 1997