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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Grainne who wrote (21163)	4/30/1998 2:26:00 AM
From: LoLoLoLita	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Christine, I'm always glad to engage in discourse on specific topics, given a proper solicitation to address an interesting question. Food irradiation is being used primarily for purposes of food safety, because high doses of radiation kill bacteria and fungi that can be harmful to human health. In the absence of food irradiation, many foods are treated with antimicrobial and antifungal compounds. These do not appear on any labels. The FDA establishes a list of the chemicals that can be used, and food processors can pick and choose. Most consumers do not know about this. Food irradiation can result in some loss of vitamin content, and it can result in the creation of free radicals in the food, which are not good for us, and may have some role in causing cancer. Like most questions of applying technology to improve our well-being, the decision on whether or not the risks outweigh the benefits can be difficult. It requires some study and thought. Food irradiation may not be appropriate for all of our food, but I believe that it is certainly appropriate for some, and I'll give you a specific example. The first food category that was subject to irradiation in the U.S. was dried spices and herbs for cooking. Irradiation killed any insect larvae and fungi, and there was no need to treat the herbs with chemicals. Whenever I go in the grocery store and see the spices labeled "Not Irradiated" I chuckle, and look for the brand that does not have that label on it. E. Coli in meat has caused fatalities, and, when discovered, it has resulted in the destruction of many thousands of tons of meat that were contaminated. This is both costly as well as causing environmental harm. Food irradiation plants are now being set up to irradiate meat. I don't know what the FDA labeling requirements are for irradiated food, but I could find out. I personally think that all of the stuff they put into the food should be noted on the label, like those antimicrobials and antifungals. And consumers should also be able to see if the food was irradiated or not. Given a clear choice between the two, the public aversion to food irradiation might dissipate. Unfortunately, this is not how the FDA likes to operate. They would rather pretend that they are some sort of God figure tasked with deciding what's good for us, and that the U.S. consumers would just be confused and alarmed if they saw a label showing what chemicals were used to treat their food. David