Status Update on Food Irradiation - Organic Consumers Association

<strong>Status</strong> <strong>Update</strong> on Food Irradiation
from Organic Consumers Association
February 2002
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), Emmpak (ground beef), Colorado Boxed Beef (poultry); WW Johnson Meat Company
(ground beef for the food service industry); the U.S. Department of Defense (ground beef and later chicken);
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).
Currently using irradiation for nonmeat foods: Some Hawaiian papayas (Hawaii Classics brand); some
fruits and vegetables from Florida; spices, herb teas and supplement ingredients like garlic (unknown
quantities).
Planning to use irradiation in the near future: Miami-based Bounty Fresh, an importer and national
distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables; Hormel (refrigerated meat products, like hot dogs); United Food
Group (Supreme Packing Co., Miller Beef, Moran's Ground Beef) Los Angeles (ground beef products);
American Foodservice Corporation, supplier for major U.S. fast food and casual dining chains including
Burger King (fresh and frozen beef patties); Del Monte (products "packaged in glass or plastic," probably
salad mixes or cut-up fruit); Kraft ( ready-to-eat meat products); SCIS Food Services (ready-to-eat foods).
SCIS operates numerous facilities for salad, bakery, side dish and entree production throughout the USA
and Mexico, including the Orval Kent Food Company, Pennant Foods, La Francaise Bakery, Ozark Salad
Company, Landau Foods and I&K Distributors.
Interested but not committed to using irradiation: Sizzler Restaurants; Wal-Mart ("case-ready" beef)
Where are the irradiation facilities?
Approximately 50 other irradiation facilities around the country. These irradiate mostly non-food items, but
foods okayed by the FDA may be irradiated there as well. In the last 3 years, new facilities have been built
in Chicagoland, Arkansas, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Long Island, Missouri. The only nuclear facility that
irradiates any substantial amount of foods has been operating for about 9 years in Mulberry, Florida.
Irradiation facilities are under construction or planned in Brazil, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Vietnam,
Guatemala, and Mexico
According to the University of California-Davis, approximately 40 countries have commercial irradiation of
food.
Which foods are approved for irradiation in the US?
Seeds that will be used for sprouting (like alfalfa and clover).The sprouts will NOT be labeled as irradiated
unless they are also irradiated.
Beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fruits, vegetables, wheat, wheat flour, eggs in the shell, herbs, spices, dried
vegetable seasonings.
Foods not yet requested for irradiation are: dairy (which is already pasteurized), dried legumes/beans and a
few single-category foods like honey and coffee.
Bacon was approved for irradiation in 1963. The approval was rescinded in 1968 because animals fed
irradiated bacon showed adverse health effects. These effects were probably due to fat oxidation (the fat
<strong>Status</strong> <strong>Update</strong> on Food Irradiation page 1 of 2 February 2002
Organic Consumers Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/irradlink.html

ecomes rancid quickly). The fact that fats become rancid quickly explains why nuts are not approved for
irradiation in the U.S.
Organic foods cannot be irradiated. But the term "natural" for foods does not exclude irradiation. Some
nutritional supplement ingredients like garlic are irradiated.
Possible additional foods that will be approved for irradiation in the U.S.
The FDA is considering allowing irradiation for deli meats, frozen foods, prepared fresh foods (like
prepackaged shredded carrots), and fresh juices. The FDA will probably approve this petition in Spring or
Summer 2002.
The FDA is considering allowing irradiation of crustaceans and mollusks.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is considering allowing irradiation for
imported fruits and vegetables. The irradiation could be done in the U.S. or in the country of origin.
The FDA is reviewing comments on a food industry-sponsored proposal to allow foods processed with new
technologies (e.g., filtration, high pressure) to be labeled as fresh. (Fruits and vegetables irradiated up to the
FDA maximum dose are already allowed to be labeled as "fresh"!)
Upcoming regulatory changes for labeling
In February 1999, the FDA asked for public comments on a proposal to change the labeling requirements
for all irradiated foods. It is currently writing the regulation. The FDA will ask the public for comments
again, by end of 2002. Everyone should comment on the proposed regulation when it is released!
Please contact us so we can notify you!
Who's responsible for irradiation policy?
The FDA is responsible for evaluation of the 'science' on whether or not irradiation is harmful (as it does for
new drugs). It is also responsible for deciding the permitted doses of irradiation and labeling requirements
for nonmeat products.
Congress tells the FDA what should be regulated, and the FDA implements Congress’s directives, for
example, “make a label that is not threatening to the consumer.”
The USDA is responsible for deciding the permitted doses of irradiation and labeling requirements for meat,
poultry and their products.
No law prevents states from passing their own labeling laws, but in practice their right to label (under
Amendment X to the Constitution) has consistently been overturned IF the labeling 'impeded' interstate
commerce. Only in unusual cases should we expect a state-level labeling law to survive legal challenges
from businesses that operate interstate.
What you can do:
1. Congress tells the FDA what to do. Please contact your member of Congress and say that you don’t want
food to be irradiated, but if it is, you want clear and prominent labels on ALL irradiated foods. Also, you
don’t want misleading terms like “pasteurization” used instead of “irradiation.”
2. Contact OCA to be notified when the FDA asks for comments on the new labels it will propose for
irradiated foods by end of 2002. Also contact us if you want any other information.
3. Tell your grocer (use a comment card) you don’t want to eat irradiated foods.
4. Set up a public education table about irradiation at food or health festivals. Contact us for flyers and
information.
5. Subscribe to the radfood list: Send an email to npetrie@citizen.org with the words "subscribe radfood" in
the subject line. This is an e-mail list of news and action alerts (about 2/week).
Organic Consumers Association
6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 USA - 218-226-4164
www.organicconsumers.org - email: office@organicconsumers.org - 218-353-7652 fax
<strong>Status</strong> <strong>Update</strong> on Food Irradiation page 2 of 2 February 2002
Organic Consumers Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/irradlink.html