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Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

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<strong>Food</strong> <strong>Service</strong> <strong>Manual</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Care</strong> <strong>Institutions</strong><br />

512<br />

Irradiation does not make foods radioactive or change taste or nutritional content. All<br />

foods that have been irradiated must be labeled with the international symbol (Figure 16.3) and<br />

contain the words “treated by irradiation.”<br />

Genetically Modified <strong>Food</strong>s<br />

The FDA regulates genetically modified foods <strong>for</strong> safety. Genetically modified foods are crop<br />

plants used <strong>for</strong> food by humans and animals that have been modified by a molecular biological<br />

process known as recombinant DNA technology. Recombinant DNA technology produces<br />

a new combination of genes by splicing in new genes or suppressing or eliminating existing<br />

genes. Through this process, the genetic makeup of a food can be modified. These plants have<br />

been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides,<br />

improved nutritional content, reduced spoilage, and improved flavor.<br />

More than <strong>for</strong>ty genetically modified products have been approved from fields to store.<br />

Some of these products are tomatoes, soybeans, corn, potatoes, cotton, rice, papaya, squash,<br />

sugar beet, cantaloupe, canola (rapeseed oil), and flax. Soybeans and corn are the largest crops<br />

that have been genetically modified.<br />

Currently the FDA has policy guidelines about food product labeling. These guidelines<br />

apply to food and food ingredients, including products developed through biotechnology. New<br />

foods that contain a new substance or an allergen that is new to that food or that exhibit a different<br />

level of certain dietary nutrients or increased toxins are required to be tested be<strong>for</strong>e being<br />

marketed. If a product is one of the categories approved by the FDA, that food would be labeled<br />

with in<strong>for</strong>mation about the food’s content and characteristics. However, if a peach is a peach—<br />

whether produced through conventional breeding techniques or through biotechnology—no<br />

special label is required. At present, the FDA does not require genetically modified foods to be<br />

labeled; however, it has developed a guiding document <strong>for</strong> companies that wish to declare genetically<br />

enhanced ingredients in their food. A number of alternative proposals are being considered<br />

concerning the labeling of foods obtained through biotechnology.<br />

Organic Standards<br />

The USDA has also developed nutritional “organic standards” <strong>for</strong> agricultural products. The<br />

labeling must be consistent from coast to coast. Supermarkets must also display organic foods<br />

separately from nonorganic products.<br />

Figure 16.3. International Irradiation Logo

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