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Labels Required
In December, the US Department of Agriculture gave
the go ahead to allow the food industry to irradiate meat, including such
products as ground beef, steaks, and pork chops. All irradiated packaged
meat and meat products will have to be labeled with the radura international
symbol for irradiation, and a statement that the product was "treated
by irradiation." Irradiated meat used in other products such as sausages
and bologna also must be labeled. For unpackaged meat products that do
not have labels, the statement and logo must be displayed at the point
of sale to consumers.
The labeling requirements do not
apply to meat bought through foodservice operations, such as restaurants,
school cafeterias or hospitals. This is a major loophole, because
fast-food restaurants are expected to be major purchasers of irradiated
meat. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of irradiation
technology for red meat in December 1997, but the USDA took nearly two
years to develop the new regulations. The new irradiation rules for meat
will go into effect on February 22. Last year, the USDA received thousands
of comments from consumers, including many OCA members, demanding that
labeling be required and prominently displayed for irradiated foods.
Irradiation has been approved for poultry products
since 1992, but the industry has been slow to adopt the technology because
of the cost, and consistent polls indicating that consumers don't want
irradiated food. Meat packers such as IBP Inc. are expected to start test
marketing irradiated ground beef to probe consumer response. Immediately
after the USDA announcement the Grocery Manufacturers of America announced
that they would jumpstart a public education campaign on the benefits
of irradiation. There have been no long-term studies on the effects of
eating irradiated food.
However, a number of studies have found that eating
irradiated food can have detrimental effects. Mice and rats have been
found to have a greater incidence of kidney disease after eating irradiated
food. Another study found testicular damage in rats fed irradiated food.
Yet another study in India found that malnourished children eating irradiated
wheat may develop an increase in abnormal white blood cells, a condition
known as polyploidy. Unfortunately, irradiation is seen as shortcut by
the meat industry to avoid addressing dirty slaughterhouses, rampant bacterial
contamination, and other impacts of industrial agriculture. Certified
organic meat cannot be irradiated.
For more on the potential hazards of irradiated foods,
go to: http://www.purefood.org/irradlink.html
Organic View - An
e-mail publication of the Organic Consumers Association v.2 n.1 January
23, 2000
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