The following letter helps us understand the new strategy the industry is going to use. They are planning to put a spin on the wording and change the term "irradiation" to "cold pasteurization".
All of this is in the interest of improving consumer acceptance of this very dangerous technology.
This reminds me of the MRI scans that we have now. When I was in medical school they were called NMR scans. This was short for nuclear magnetic resonance scans. Although NMR is more technically accurate, it had a severe public image problem, so the term was changed to MRI.
June 26, 2001
Mr. Donald S. Clark, Secretary U.S. Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20580
Re: False advertising complaint against SureBeam Corp.
Dear Mr. Clark:
Under the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act and Title 15 of the U.S. Code, Public Citizen and the Center for Food Safety hereby file a false advertising complaint against SureBeam Corp. This complaint relates to the manner in which SureBeam recently advertised its services on the Internet.
Based in San Diego, CA, SureBeam is a provider of food irradiation services using linear accelerators. On May 24 and 25 of this year, SureBeam sponsored the "Daily Industry News" provided by the Internet-based news and information service, MEATingplace.com (www.meatingplace.com). These advertisements promoted SureBeam's "electronically pasteurized foods."
These advertisements are misleading because pasteurization and irradiation are distinctly different processes.
Pasteurization is a thermal process that was invented by French microbiologist Louis Pasteur in 1864, when he discovered that microorganisms could be killed by heating wine to 55° C for several minutes. For decades it has been used successfully to decontaminate dairy products, fruit juice, beer and wine.
Irradiation is an ionizing radiation process that was developed during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, mainly through research conducted by the U.S. Army, which was looking for ways to better preserve food for soldiers; by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, which was looking for non-military applications of nuclear technology; and the U.S. Department of Energy, which was looking for ways to utilize the radioactive waste generated by the production of nuclear weapons.
In the case of SureBeam, the company uses a type of linear accelerator originally developed for the Strategic Defense Initiative to fire electrons nearly to the speed of light, killing microorganisms by disrupting their DNA. Though legal for nearly 40 years, food irradiation has yet to be extensively integrated into commercial food production and distribution systems.
Accordingly, the American public has markedly different opinions about the two processes. Pasteurization has been named in many public opinion polls as one of the most trusted food safety technologies ever developed. Irradiation, however, is unfavorably looked upon:
The fact that consumers hold negative attitudes toward irradiation was echoed at a food irradiation conference held in Washington, D.C., Feb. 26-28. Brian Folkerts of the National Food Processors Association told the audience that "the word irradiation has a very negative connotation" that "is an impediment to the consumer acceptance of irradiated food." NFPA president Jeffrey Barach told the audience that irradiation "is a very pejorative term."
It is clear that SureBeam is attempting to stimulate positive consumer responses to irradiated food by invoking the word "pasteurization." It is also clear that people who read SureBeam's advertisements on the MEATingplace.com are likely to believe that SureBeam provides pasteurization services. Accordingly, SureBeam's use of "electronically pasteurized" is deceptive.
Title 15, Section 52 of the U.S. Code states that "it shall be unlawful for any ... corporation to disseminate, or cause to be disseminated, any false advertisement." Title 15, Section 55 defines "false advertisement" as an advertisement that is "misleading in a material respect." Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibits "deceptive acts or practices." Sections 12 and 15 make this prohibition applicable to food.
According to the FTC's "Advertising and Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road" (September 2000), the FTC has interpreted "deceptive" to mean advertising that "is likely to mislead consumers and affect consumers' behavior or decisions about the product or service." It is clear that using the term "pasteurization" in lieu of "irradiation" is likely to mislead consumers and affect their decisions about SureBeam's products.
We believe that SureBeam's advertisements meet all three elements of the FTC Policy Statement on Deception (October 14, 1983). In the case of SureBeam's use of "electronically pasteurized" in lieu of "irradiation," (1) the misrepresentation is likely to mislead the consumer; (2) the misrepresentation is likely to mislead a reasonable consumer; and (3) the misrepresentation is a material one.
We strongly urge the FTC to fully investigate this matter and exercise any and all means to enjoin SureBeam Corp. from disseminating false advertisements.
Sincerely,
Wenonah Hauter, Director, Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program, 215 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20003
Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director, Center for Food Safety 666 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20003
Public Citizen
Related Articles:
The Problems with Irradiated Food: What the Research Says Food Irradiation Will Be Used To Mask Filthy Slaughtering and Food Processing Practices Food Irradiation Q&As SteriGenics: The Untold History Many in the Scientific Community Are Opposed to Irradiation The Dangers of Irradiation Facilities
The Problems with Irradiated Food: What the Research Says
Food Irradiation Will Be Used To Mask Filthy Slaughtering and Food Processing Practices
Food Irradiation Q&As
SteriGenics: The Untold History
Many in the Scientific Community Are Opposed to Irradiation
The Dangers of Irradiation Facilities