Food Irradiation : Part 2

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 3)

Because irradiated red meat is not yet on the market, it remains to be seen if consumers will buy products such as irradiated ground beef — or if large food processors will even offer it. Irradiated products sold to date have cost slightly more than their untreated counterparts because of the extra step irradiation adds to food processing. But in the future, these costs could be offset by improved shelf life and increased consumer demand, according to food trade groups.

Major food companies such as poultry processors, meat packers, and grocery chains have yet to embrace irradiation, not only because of perceived consumer attitudes, but also due to logistics. Food Technology Service Inc., in Mulberry, Fla., is the only irradiating facility dedicated solely to treating agricultural products. More than 40 other facilities nationwide primarily handle sterilization of medical supplies, though these plants also can irradiate food products. In fact, it was a New Jersey-based medical irradiation company, Isomedix Inc., that petitioned FDA to approve red meat irradiation.

Beyond physical distances and lack of facilities, sheer product volume makes it unlikely that irradiation will be widespread anytime soon. The domestic poultry trade, for instance, processes about 25 billion pounds per year, according to industry figures. Says Kenneth May, spokesman for the National Broiler Council, which represents poultry producers: "We think [irradiation is] a process that will work. But for practical purposes, we just don't see anything happening with it in the near future." He adds, however, that if the public really wants an irradiated product, the poultry industry will find a way to deliver it.

Will Consumers Accept It?

Before irradiation can really take off, the public must "warm up" to a method associated with nuclear energy, a source that carries its share of negative perceptions. George Pauli, Ph.D., FDA's food irradiation safety coordinator, compares irradiation to milk pasteurization, another decontaminating process that dramatically curbed disease but took decades before achieving public acceptance. "When the public finally sees a need for irradiation and realizes its value, I think people will accept it, maybe even demand it," Pauli says. "But you have to give them time."

A Louis Harris poll released in 1986 found that 76 percent of Americans considered irradiated food a hazard. But later studies have shown that consumer attitudes can be changed through education.

In 1995, researchers at the University of Georgia reported that 87.5 percent of consumers had heard of irradiation but knew little about it. So the university set up a "simulated supermarket setting" and labeled irradiated products, put posters at the point of sale, and developed a slide show explaining irradiation. "Our goal was to see which one of those techniques was most effective in changing people's attitudes," says Kay McWatters, agricultural research scientist and one of the study authors.

The study found that any kind of education helps convey the benefits of irradiation, McWatters says. "But the one that turned out most effective was the slide show, because visual images and [narration] are much more attention-getting than just a static label or poster."

After the study's education strategy, about 84 percent of participating consumers said irradiation is "somewhat necessary" or "very necessary." Fifty-eight percent said they would always buy irradiated chicken if available, and 27 percent said they would buy it sometimes.

Another study in 1997 by the Food Marketing Institute had similar results. After receiving education about the process, 60 percent of those in the study said they would buy irradiated foods.

Carrot Top owner Corrigan also discovered this on a small scale after sending his regular customers information about irradiation in periodic newsletters.

Luggage and Milk

Other studies, however, show that many consumers still question if irradiation is safe. They wonder if the process transfers radiation to the product or if it causes chemical changes in the food that might be hazardous. Even the word "irradiation" is scary to some, carrying images of atomic explosions or nuclear reactor accidents. But as long as radiation is applied to foods in approved doses, it's safe, says FDA's Pauli. Similar to sending luggage through an airport scanner, the process passes food quickly through a radiation field — typically gamma rays produced from radioactive cobalt-60. That amount of energy is not strong enough to add any radioactive material to the food. The same irradiation process is used to sterilize medical products such as bandages, contact lens solutions, and hospital supplies such as gloves, sutures and gowns. Many spices sold in this country also are irradiated, which eliminates the need for chemical fumigation to control pests. American astronauts have eaten irradiated foods since 1972.

Irradiation is a "cold" process that gives off little heat, so foods can be irradiated within their packaging and remain protected against contamination until opened by users. Because a few bacteria can survive the process in poultry and meats, it's important, Pauli says, to keep products refrigerated and to cook them properly.

Irradiation interferes with bacterial genetics, so the contaminating organism can no longer survive or multiply. Although chemicals called radiolytic products are created when food is irradiated, FDA has found them to pose no health hazard. In fact, the same kinds of products are formed when food is cooked.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.