SEAFOOD INDUSTRY WANT PERMISSION TO USE IRRADIATION

[Jim Muckerheide <jmuckerheide@delphi.com>]

SEAFOOD INDUSTRY WANT PERMISSION TO USE IRRADIATION

 ARLINGTON, Virginia, November 9, 2000 (ENS) - The National Fisheries
Institute (NFI) and others have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) to allow for the voluntary use of irradiation treatment for crustacean
seafood products, including shrimp, crab, lobster and crawfish. "The use of
irradiation to control food pathogens has widespread scientific acceptance,
and both consumers and producers would benefit if it were available to use on
crustaceans" said Richard Gutting Jr., NFI's president. "Consumers should have
the option of choosing products that have an additional measure of safety if
they so desire." 

 Although thorough cooking destroys harmful bacteria, irradiation further
reduces risks associated with undercooking or contamination after cooking, the
groups argued in their petition, sent Wednesday. Undercooking or post cooking
contamination can allow survival or reintroduction of these bacteria. During
irradiation treatment, food is exposed to a controlled level of radiation
energy to destroy microscopic bacterial pathogens without changing the taste
or nutrition content of the food product itself, the groups said. Irradiation
does not make food radioactive, and is used in the production of about a half
a million tons of food per year worldwide. In the U.S., irradiation has
already been approved for use in poultry, eggs and some meat products, and
spices. Treated shrimp, crab and lobster would be labeled in accordance with
governmental guidelines. The petition was filed by NFI in conjunction with MDS
Nordion, Inc., IBA Food Safety Division, and the Louisiana Department of
Agriculture and Forestry. NFI filed a similar petition for molluscan shellfish
in September of 1999 and is awaiting an FDA response. "Our objective is to
ensure that producers of crustacean products have every possible tool
available to address the food safety concerns of their customers," Gutting
concluded. 

Regards, Jim
muckerheide@mediaone.net
Radiation, Science, and Health
http://cnts.wpi.edu/rsh/
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