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Alderspring
beef is not irradiated.
We believe the evidence is fairly strong
that irradiation is harmful, but given the risk of food poisoning (see
ECOLI) from beef, irradiation may be the lesser
of two evils. With grass grown beef and small-scale inspected processing,
the risk of E. coli is dramatically lower, eliminating the justification
for irradiation.
I (Caryl) found this article particularly troubling as a mother. With tax dollars, this effort studies how to blunt opposition to the use of irradiated meat in school lunch programs through the development of "educational" programs. Guess you have to start making sack lunches if you don't want your child to eat the stuff... Minnesota Records Another Irradiation
First
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The Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning (CFL) says school districts in Spring Lake Park, Sauk Rapids and Willmar will be participating in the education pilot project on school food safety and irradiation. The project aims at providing the best and latest, science-based information on irradiation and school food safety to parents, students, educators, administrators, school boards and community members within those three districts. The intent is to provide them with the knowledge to make the best decisions about their school food safety methods and procedures...
...The first phase, already underway, will assess the knowledge level and concerns regarding school food safety and the use of irradiated foods in the three school districts.
That information will be used to develop an education component to address those needs and concerns. This second phase will run from March to April.
Phase three, scheduled for May, will involve evaluating the effectiveness of the education materials and its delivery methods. From that, modifications will be made to the education materials before they are implemented statewide. Completion of the three-phase project is expected during the summer.
Minnesota is on the forefront of irradiated ground beef adoption. A partnership between the MBC, state public health agencies and a Minnesota ground beef processor made the retail availability of ground beef a reality in May 2000. Since then its availability has spread nationwide and irradiated ground beef is today being served in at least 2,000 restaurants and more than 4,000 retail grocery supermarkets in the U.S.
Ban on Irradiated Meat Lifted in School
Lunch Program
The Washington Post - May 30, 2003
(Added 10/2003)
By Michael A. Fletcher (entire article
here)
The Department
of Agriculture yesterday lifted its prohibition on irradiated ground beef
in the national school lunch program, giving local school districts the
option of ordering meat decontaminated with gamma rays, X-rays or electrons
as early as next January.
The department
issued regulations allowing the purchase of irradiated ground beef over
the objections of several consumer groups, which have voiced lingering
concerns about the technology's safety for the 27 million students in the
nation's school lunch program.
"While there
is not a lot of evidence that irradiation harms anybody, neither has there
been any group of people who has consumed irradiated food over a long period
of time," said Arthur S. Jaeger, associate director of the Consumer Federation
of America. "We have said all along that we don't think school kids are
the place to start serving irradiated ground beef."
Some schools, day-care centers to serve irradiated beef
by Brendan O'Neill on 9/2/04 for Meatingplace.com
Schools and day-care centers in Minnesota, Nebraska and Texas will be serving irradiated ground beef to children this year, despite the protests of some local officials and parents.
This is the first year the U.S. Department of Agriculture has offered irradiated beef in national school lunch and other federal food programs, but it has been on grocery store shelves since 2000. In Nebraska, 50 schools and 15 day-care centers have ordered the meat, which is exposed to gamma rays or electricity to kill harmful bacteria.
Critics argue that eating irradiated food could cause health problems like cancer.
Laura Kresbach, a mother and a regional representative for the Sierra Club in Lincoln, Neb., said she would not be comfortable with her children eating irradiated beef.
"The jury's still out on this irradiation thing," she said. "Why should we be playing guinea pig with our kids?"
Nebraska orders about 1 million pounds of ground beef each year for schools and day-care centers. This year 2 percent of that is irradiated, which costs about 15 cents more per pound than regular ground beef.
State and federal officials are urging schools and day-care centers to inform parents if they are serving irradiated beef.
The Truth about Irradiated Meat
from Consumer Reports
(added July 2003)
In the aftermath of record meat recalls, certain supermarkets and restaurants are touting something new: irradiated chicken and ground beef.
Irradiation "eliminates any bacteria that might exist in food," according to a Food Emporium supermarket flyer. "You can’t taste the difference," claims a pamphlet from SureBeam, a leading food irradiator. "Enjoy with confidence!" says a poster advertising irradiated double cheeseburgers at a Minneapolis Dairy Queen. Full-page newspaper ads from Wegmans supermarkets tell customers that they can cook a juicy irradiated burger "the way they like it" and "without worrying about safety."
Consumer Reports put claims like those
to the test. Our research, taste tests, and microbial analysis of irradiated
and nonirradiated chicken and ground beef--the largest analysis of its
kind on meat sold at retail--counter many of the assertions.
(Read
entire article at the Consumer Reports Website)
Additional information from Organic Consumers Association:
Which companies are irradiating in the
US: now and in the near future?
Companies that
produce over 75% of the U.S.'s 9 billion pounds/year of ground beef and
approximately 50% of the nearly 35 billion pounds/year of poultry have
signed agreements to use irradiation technology. The only way to know how
much of their products are irradiated now is to ask the company. Most irradiated
product--primarily hamburger and chicken--is going to restaurants and other
food service and is not labeled to the consumer.
Currently using
irradiation for meat/poultry: Huisken's of Minnesota (ground beef, 22 states);
Schwan's home delivery (ground beef); Omaha Steaks; Tyson, IBP (now owned
by Tyson) (ground beef), Excel (ground beef - the U.S. Dept. of Defense
plans to buy irradiated beef from Excel), Emmpak (ground beef), Colorado
Boxed Beef (poultry); WW Johnson Meat Company (ground beef for the food
service industry); Kenosha Beef International (ground beef; it supplies
Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Target, A&W Restaurants, Dairy Queen,
Hardee's, and Hot'N Now Hamburgers); Nation's Pride (chicken to restaurants
and food service); Rochester Meat (ground beef products, portion cut steaks
and pork, for the foodservice industry).
How are humans affected by eating irradiated
food?
We don’t know.
There have been no long-term human studies, and almost no studies on children.
The FDA based its approval of irradiation to treat meat products on only
7 animal studies of 441 studies submitted, and these 7 either showed health
effects or had obvious scientific flaws like using a dose of radiation
much lower than the FDA’s permitted ;maximum. In fact, animal studies have
shown many health effects, such as tumors, kidney failure, death of offspring
and miscarriages. Irradiation for fruits and vegetables was based on a
theoretical calculation of the danger of the new chemicals that were created,
not on animal studies.
We do know that irradiation
can damage vitamins A, C, E, K, B1, B2, B3, B6 and folic acid, up to 80%,
depending on the vitamin and how long the foods are stored. People who
rely on fresh foods for their vitamins may suffer vitamin deficiencies.
It is ironic that the vitamins that are destroyed are those needed to fight
the extra free radicals created by irradiation! People who eat irradiated
foods will be eating them in large quantities for a long period of time—possibly
for life—especially if the FDA stops requiring labels. Scientists have
no idea what result this will have on human health.
Some foods may be irradiated twice, for
example fresh apricots in a packaged fruit salad that is also irradiated.
No studies exist on the effects on these “double-dose” foods on health.
The existing
science on the safety of food irradiation is totally inadequate for the
FDA to unleash this technology on the public. The FDA should require labels
on the food so that people can avoid irradiated foods, and so that public
health officials can determine if people who ate these foods and people
who avoided them have different health problems. Without labels, epidemiologists
will never be able to determine the health effects of irradiated foods
in the diet.
From the Berkley Wellness Letter, University of California; Volume 8 issue 8
Is irradiated food safe to eat?
The answer to
this question is unknown. Of course, irradiation does not make food radioactive,
any more than dental X-rays make your jaw radioactive. Irradiation is classified
by the government as a food additive-but just what it adds to foods and
what effects these compounds have on humans is not completely understood.
Radiation damages the basic molecular structure of the food, creating new
substances, known as free radicals, that can further threaten the stability
of molecules. The higher the dose of radiation, the more free radicals
and new compounds. But studies so far have not adequately tested the toxicity
of these compounds. It's illegal to test for toxicity on humans until experiments
with animals seem to indicate that such tests would be safe. In testing
food additives, laboratory animals are fed abnormally high levels (compared
to what humans might actually eat) of potential toxins-and then theoretical
models have to be made to apply the results to humans. Such studies have
not been done for irradiation. Instead, irradiated food has been fed to
animals, but this may not be the same as testing with large doses of a
known additive.
FDA Will Consider Alternatives To "Irradiated"
Beef Cow/Calf Weekly; October 11 2002 Newsletter
In a move that could hasten consumer acceptance of irradiated foods, FDA will entertain petitions by food companies to use alternatives to the word "irradiation" on packages of food treated with the bacteria-killing technology. Currently, irradiated foods must bear the words "treated with irradiation" or "treated by radiation." The packaging must also include the radura symbol.
Under the 2002 farm bill, which urged relaxation
of the labeling rules, companies will now be able to seek approval for
the use of such words as "cold pasteurization," FDA says. New guidelines
released this week by FDA require petitioning firms to provide consumer
research that shows shoppers will understand the proposed label. The FDA
will then either accept or deny the application within six months.
And The (Irradiated) Beef Goes On
Beef cow/calf weekly, 13 December 2002
Ron Eustice of
the Minnesota Beef Council, a national standard bearer for the widespread
adoption of irradiated ground beef, provides this update of retailers and
restaurants that have added irradiated ground beef to their offerings since
November 6.
Fresh Brands,
Inc., a supermarket retailer and grocery wholesaler based in Wisconsin.
Offered through corporate-owned retail, franchised and independent supermarkets.
Stores are located throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois under the
Piggly Wiggly and Dick's Supermarkets brands. The company controls nearly
$1 billion in retail grocery sales.
Embers America
Inc., a St. Paul, MN-based chain of full-service, family-style restaurants,
has introduced a line of irradiated hamburgers. The famous Ember Burger
is now irradiated. The family-owned company, has 65 restaurants, and branches
throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa. It's the first
full-service restaurant chain to offer irradiated meat.
Lunds/Byerly's,
based in Edina, MN, introduced Fairfield Farms brand fresh irradiated ground
chuck at all locations. Byerly's operates 11 stores in Minneapolis-St.
Paul and one in St. Cloud. Lunds has eight stores in the Twin Cities area.
Jewel-Osco, a
191-store unit of Boise, ID-based Albertson's Inc., is selling irradiated
ground beef at Chicago stores and other locations.
Hannaford and
Shop'n Save Supermarkets based in Scarborough, ME, offers case-ready irradiated
fresh ground beef in 117 stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York
and Massachusetts.
Pick 'n Save,
the retail division of Roundy's Inc., based in Pewaukee, WI, offers 1-lb.
packs of irradiated fresh ground beef. Nine other Pick 'n Save stores are
also participating in the test sale.
Irradiated ground beef has also hit food
service in a big way since its introduction in May 2000. Here's a sampling
of which firms are providing it:
W.W. Johnson,
a Minneapolis-based private label foodservice company. The firm private
labels fresh ground beef for national and regional foodservice distributors
and chains including Sysco, US Foodservice, Rhinehart, Upper Lakes Foods
and Fraboni's. Sales of irradiated product through W.W. Johnson are coast
to coast and expanding steadily. About 10% of W.W. Johnson's production
is irradiated.
Sysco: Currently
28 Sysco Foodservice Distribution Centers are offering irradiated products
to various foodservice establishments. Some of the areas with irradiated
ground beef are Portland, ME; Kent, WA; Billings, MT; Milwaukee, WI, Cleveland
and Cincinnati, OH.
Schwan's, based
in Marshall, MN, began selling irradiated frozen patties nationwide through
home delivery in late May 2000. All fresh/frozen ground beef at Schwan's
is irradiated.
Nash Finch Company,
based in Minneapolis, MN, began marketing Huisken BeSure irradiated beef
patties in summer 2000. Nash Finch is one of the leading food retail and
distribution companies in the U.S., and owns and operates a base of 112
retail stores, principally supermarkets under the AVANZA, Buy-n-Save, Econofoods
and Sun Mart trade names. In addition to its retail operations, Nash Finch
Company's food distribution business serves independent retailers and military
commissaries in 28 states, theDistrict of Columbia and Europe.
Omaha Steaks
has marketed irradiated frozen patties since the summer of 2000. All ground
beef from Omaha Steaks is irradiated.
Irradiation Basics
from Nuclear Lunch: The Dangers and Unknowns of Food Irradiation. By by Susan Meeker-Lowery and Jennifer Ferrara
Food is irradiated using radioactive gamma sources, usually cobalt 60 or cesium 137, or high energy electron beams. The gamma rays break up the molecular structure of the food, forming positively and negatively charged particles called free radicals. The free radicals react with the food to create new chemical substances called “radiolytic products.” Those unique to the irradiation process are known as “unique radiolytic products” (URPs).
Some radiolytic products, such as formaldehyde, benzene, formic acid, and quinones are harmful to human health. Benzene, for example, is a known carcinogen.
In one experiment, seven times more benzene was found in cooked, irradiated beef than in cooked, non-irradiated beef. Some URPs are completely new chemicals that have not even been identified, let alone tested for toxicity.
In addition, irradiation destroys essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, thiamine, B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, C, E, and K; amino acid and essential polyunsaturated fatty acid content may also be affected. A 20 to 80 percent loss of any of these is not uncommon.
Potential Health Hazards of Food Irradiation:
Verbatim Excerpts from Expert Testimony, U.S. Congressional Hearings
Into Food Irradiation
WHAT’S
WRONG WITH FOOD IRRADIATION
With Sources for Each Statement
January 2001 The Organic Consumers
Association
Dr. Joseph Mercola runs the Wellness Center, which focuses on excellent health through diet and supplementation, and avoidance of toxins. He maintains several informational pages on irradiation:.
- Irradiated food has caused a myriad of health problems in laboratory animals (and people in a few studies), including chromosomal damage, immune and reproductive problems, kidney damage, tumors, internal bleeding, low birth weight, and nutritional muscular dystrophy. (Read more)
- This page from Dr. Mercola’s site quotes scientists opposed to irradiation.
- The Problem With Irradiated Food: What the Research Says.Another page from Dr. Mercola’s excellent site describing many studies on irradiation showing problems such as cancer, reproductive problems, and higher death rates in laboratory animals.
Two opposing views from the New England Journal of Medicine
Irradiation of food
July 22, 2004
New England Journal of Medicine: Vol.
351, No. 4
Michael McCally, M.D., Ph.D., of the Mount
Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, and Martin Donohoe, M.D., Portland
State University, Portland, OR, write in this letter that both the Sounding
Board article by Osterholm and Norgan and the Perspective article by Thayer
(April 29 issue)1,2 call for greatly expanded use of irradiation to prevent
foodborne illness. The authors, two of whom receive funding from the food-irradiation
industry, mention but dismiss strong arguments against the use of this
technology.
The authors say in the letter that many
studies have shown that irradiated foods, which contain novel carcinogens
called 2-alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs), have a worse taste and have potential
adverse health consequences.3 The European Union recently voted to deny
a permit for the expanded use of food irradiation, pending further study
of 2-ACBs.
A majority of Americans oppose food irradiation,
which adds considerably to the cost of food. Some school districts have
adopted policies prohibiting irradiated food.4 Many costly, new nuclear
processing facilities containing highly radioactive sources would be required,
raising issues of worker safety, transportation safety, the disposal of
radioactive waste, and possible targets for terrorism. No research shows
the effectiveness of food irradiation. Does food irradiation reduce the
incidence of foodborne illness in the community and improve the outcomes
of such illness? Given safer, cheaper, and more effective alternatives
to ensure food safety,5 large-scale food irradiation should not proceed
without further study, including a demonstration of its effectiveness.
References
1. Osterholm MT, Norgan AP. The role of
irradiation in food safety. N Engl J Med 2004;350:1898-1901.[Full Text]
2. Thayer DW. Irradiation of food -- helping
to ensure food safety. N Engl J Med 2004;350:1811-1812.[Full Text]
3. Raul F, Gosse F, Dilincee H, et al.
Food-borne radiolytic compounds (2-alkylcyclobutanones) may promote experimental
colon carcinogenesis. Nutr Cancer 2002;44:189-191.[CrossRef][Medline]
4. Burros M. Irradiated beef: a question
in lunchrooms. New York Times. January 29, 2003.
5. Nestle M. Safe food: bacteria, biotechnology,
and bioterrorism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
Dr. Osterholm and Mr. Norgan of the University
of Minnesota reply that the comments of McCally and Donohoe reflect what
they consider to be the emotional effort of a few to provide misinformation
against the use of irradiation that would dramatically improve the safety
of segments of our food supply. Their concerns are factually incorrect,
extraneous to a discussion of the safety of irradiation, or directly refuted
by scientific data cited in the article.
Osterholm and Norgan write that every
major scientific and medical organization in the world that has evaluated
food-irradiation technology has endorsed its safety. The legislation that
authorizes the approval process for food irradiation precludes approval
on the basis of a risk–benefit analysis (i.e., the benefit of food irradiation
in preventing morbidity and mortality that are related to foodborne diseases
vs. the risk of an adverse health consequence from consuming irradiated
food). Rather, to be approved, food irradiation must meet the more stringent
"no detectable adverse health consequence" standard. The fact that applications
for the irradiation of a variety of foods have been approved by the Food
and Drug Administration indicates the current medical and scientific consensus
on the issue.
Dr. Thayer of Lower Gwynedd, PA replies
that McCally and Donohoe ignore the results of a multigeneration, multispecies
feeding study in which 135,406 kg of chicken sterilized by irradiation
provided 35 percent of the diet for test animals: no treatment-related
abnormalities or changes in the test animals were detected.1 The European
Commission's Scientific Committee on Food concluded in July 2002 that genotoxicity
of 2-ACBs had not been demonstrated. The commission's conclusion is supported
by animal-feeding studies,1 lack of mutagenicity of 2-dodecylcyclobutanone,2,3
and routine use of irradiated feeds to ensure that the test animals remain
disease-free during toxicology studies. Evaluation of many generations
of test animals that have consumed diets consisting of irradiated foods
would be expected to reveal any long-term effects, yet the animals breed
normally and show no signs of genetic, teratogenic, or other abnormalities.4
The effectiveness of irradiation in killing foodborne pathogens such as
salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Staphylococcus
aureus in meat and poultry is well documented,5 and there have been no
recalls of irradiated hamburger or poultry due to contamination. Food irradiation
neither uses nor generates nuclear waste.
References
1. Thayer DW, Christopher JP, Campbell
LA, et al. Toxicology studies of irradiation-sterilized chicken. J Food
Prot 1987;50:287-288.
2. Sommers CH. 2-Dodecylcyclobutanone
does not induce mutations in the Escherichia coli tryptophan reverse mutation
assay. J Agric Food Chem 2003;51:6367-6370.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
3. Sommers CH, Schiestl RH. 2-Dodecylcyclobutanone
does not induce mutations in the salmonella mutagenicity test or intrachromosomal
recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Food Prot 2004;67:1293-1298.[ISI][Medline]
4. Swallow AJ. Wholesomeness and safety
of irradiated foods. In: Friedman M, ed. Nutritional and toxicological
consequences of food processing. New York: Plenum Press, 1991.
5. Thayer DW, Boyd G, Fox JB Jr, et al.
Variations in radiation sensitivity of foodborne pathogens associated with
the suspending meat. J Food Sci 1995;60:63-67.[ISI]