FDA To Allow Irradiation Of Spinach And Lettuce

[beam me up scottie]

FDA To Allow Irradiation Of Spinach And Lettuce

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a ruling that allows food producers to irradiate spinach and iceberg lettuce to kill foodborne bacteria like E. coli and salmonella that can cause people to become ill. The action is intended to reduce outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, of which there have been several in recent years, including the E. coli outbreak of 2006 where fresh bagged spinach was removed from the shelves.

The FDA said irradiation is safe and does not adversely affect the nutitional value of food, although the agency acknowledged in their announcement, as reported by WebMD, that irradiation of spinach does affect levels of folate and vitamin A.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that irradiation of food is safe and does not make it radioactive. Their position on food irradiation is ] it "holds great potential for preventing many important foodborne diseases" and overwhelming scientific evidence shows it does not harm the nutritional value of food, nor does it make food unsafe to eat.

The CDC likens the process to the pasteurization of milk, that is it will be most effective when "coupled to careful sanitation programs" and consumers will only trust food producers if they make the food clean first and then irradiate it to make it safe.

The FDA ruling does not force food producers to irradiate spinach and lettuce, it just allows them to do so.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/119015.php">More

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Labeling

Will the FDA allow producers of NON-irradiated lettuce and spinach to print labels to advise consumers they have a choice? Sounds like the problem with certain milk wholesalers who want to label their product contains no bovine growth hormone.

[beam me up scottie]

7. How to tell if the food has been irradiated:

How can I tell if the food has been irradiated?

A distinctive logo has been developed for use on food packaging, in order to identify the product as irradiated. This symbol is called the "radura" and is used internationally to mean that the food in the package has been irradiated. A written description may also be present, such as "Irradiated to destroy harmful microbes". It is not required to label a food if a minor ingredient of the food, such as a spice, has been irradiated itself.

Much more here: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/DBMD/diseaseinfo/foodirradiation.htm">Food Irradiation

[denverbill]

19. Don't forget the paragraph after the above one.

"FDA is currently proposing a rule that in some cases would allow certain irradiated foods to be marketed without any labeling at all. Under the new rules, only those irradiated foods in which the irradiation causes a material change in the food, or a material change in the consequences that may result from the use of the food, would bear the Radura symbol and the term "irradiated", or a derivative thereof, in conjunction with explicit language describing the change in the food or its conditions of use. In the same rule FDA is proposing to permit a firm to use the terms "electronically pasteurized" or "cold pasteurized" in lieu of "irradiated", provided it notifies the agency that the irradiation process being used meets the criteria specified for use of the term "pasteurized".<32>"

Frankly, I don't care if the FDA allows corporations to irradiate food. I just believe in letting people make up their own minds, not having corporations decide for me that pesticide laden produce is 'organic'. If food is irradiated, it should be labeled as irradiated. Any other label is a deliberate attempt to mislead consumers.

[beam me up scottie]

20. No argument here.

We get our produce from the amish and mennonites whenever possible.

[PATRICK]

2. So the producers can

be as cheap and unsanitary as they like while cost is added for irradiation processing. I am trying to imagine the radiation difference between heating as opposed to shooting atomic bullets into the chemical structure. Nutrition is lost by the one in order to make the food safe and digestible while in the second someone might think they were getting full nutritional benefit from eating a seemingly untouched piece of produce in the raw when it fact it is somewhat pre-cooked.

Next step is to remove the labeling for radiated foods.

[mhatrw]

3. Great! Way to gut the government and let in contaminated product so

that our "fresh" greens can now be irradiated without labeling. Thanks, Dubya!

[denverbill]

4. Excellent. Now we won't know if we are eating shit contaminated food.

I can't wait for the 'not labeling irradiated foods is a good thing' brigade to show up.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

5. Uh-oh. Look out for The Amazing Colossal Popeye. nt

[beam me up scottie]

6. Most intelligent and reasoned response yet!

[mhatrw]

12. Popeye can eat shit!

literally, unfortunately.

[dropkickpa]

8. Good

Now maybe I won't get the shits from hell just by eating a salad. Murikans are so sceered of nucular radiashun, it's amuzing!

[beam me up scottie]

9. I think it has something to do with teh FDA wanting our precious bodily fluids...

or something.

[dropkickpa]

10. Well, Dropkick nectar IS extremely valuable!

It's worth brazilians of dollars!!!

[beam me up scottie]

11. You know, you could make a fortune in the alternative medicine industry.

It's all in the packaging.

[Orrex]

25. The Shits from Hell were featured in '28 Days Later', I believe

More Science!

[dropkickpa]

26. See?!?See!?!??

[cosmik debris]

13. It's about time!

To some extent, our ability to feed the world's poor depends on our ability to preserve food long enough for it to be distributed.

Hopefully, when the Luddite voices are drowned out, it will become clear that irradiating food will make a huge difference in the amount of food available for distribution to third world countries.

[beam me up scottie]

14. Yep. "The CDC likens the process to the pasteurization of milk..."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that irradiation of food is safe and does not make it radioactive. Their position on food irradiation is that it "holds great potential for preventing many important foodborne diseases" and overwhelming scientific evidence shows it does not harm the nutritional value of food, nor does it make food unsafe to eat.

The CDC likens the process to the pasteurization of milk, that is it will be most effective when "coupled to careful sanitation programs" and consumers will only trust food producers if they make the food clean first and then irradiate it to make it safe.

[cosmik debris]

15. When you see images of "food aid" on TV

they always show big bags of wheat and rice.

With this technology we will be able to distribute milk, meat, and fresh fruits and vegetables--a balanced diet--along with the wheat and rice.

And all we have to do is put the food in a room with a small piece of Cobalt 60 for a few minutes.

[beam me up scottie]

17. Why would Americans care about how this will benefit poor people?

Screech first, ask questions later. Or not.

[hedgehog]

22. I thought it was because we have big piles of surplus wheat and rice!

[Liberal Veteran]

16. Pasteurization? Bah! It sounds like something a cheese eating surrender monkey created!

:rofl:

[beam me up scottie]

18. I hear they inject the helpless vegetables with aluminum first before they poison it with radiation.

And of course you won't be allowed to find information about what they really do to the hapless veggies, it will all be covered up by the Medical Mafia. ;)

[Nevernose]

23. Aluminum is a deadly neurotoxin! Nothing to laugh at!

And that's why it's so so SO important to make sure your tinfoil hat is made of genuine tin, and not aluminum. :tinfoil: It's a common mistake that many new paranoids make. Plus, genuine tinfoil blocks up to 50% more of the radiation from spinach. It's true -- just ask any chiropractor or acupuncturist!

[dropkickpa]

27. wrong place n/m

[beam me up scottie]

21. kick

Local news down here already scaring people, calling it 'radioactive'.

[Orrex]

24. I can't endorse the irradiation of food unless Big Pharma makes a huge profit on it

Of course, as a full-time and well-compensated shill, that's my stance on everything.

[dropkickpa]

28. Does irradiated milk have that smell??

I HATE the smell of milk, it all smells like mucus and vomit to me, I'm super paranoid and dump tons of milk way before the sell by because it smells bad to me. I'd feel a little better getting irradiated milk, because at least then I'd know it's just because it really does stink that badly, instead of my paranoia about it being due to being a bacteria vat.