Food irradiation discussion

[Dick Petit <petit@marshall.edu>]

Irradiation of food has been discussed on RADSAFE from time to time, but I

found a viewpoint from a medical journal to be equally interesting.  In the

New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) October 16, 1997 -- Vol. 337, No.

16, there was a discussion on future irradiation of (imported) raspberries,

through letters to the editor:

http://www.nejm.org/content/1997/0337/0016/1170.asp



Only two of the respondents were definitely biased against irradiation for

sterilization, and their fields of expertise are not stated.

  

The last letter in the discussion, by a public health official, is a

well-thought defense of irradiation regarding radiolytic decomposition of

foodstuffs, with references.  Since the discussion has been copyrighted by

NEJM, I hesitate to post it's text on RADSAFE, but I paste the last letter

here, FYI:



"To the Editor:



Most of my editorial was related to Cyclospora cayetanensis as an emerging

infectious-disease agent, but not surprisingly, the responses are about my

concluding paragraph on food irradiation. Unfortunately, this valuable

public health tool remains a point of great controversy.



Tritsch and Tritsch illustrate the use of inadequate science to suggest

that ionizing irradiation for food pasteurization is unsafe. First, any

process that heats food, including cooking, exposure to light, microwaving,

and irradiation, creates free radicals, or highly reactive molecules, in

the food. However, multiple studies have documented that no radiolytic

products have been found in irradiated foods that have not been found in

much greater amounts in food exposed to ordinary cooking. Anti-irradiation

activists frequently state that irradiation creates unique radiolytic

products that can be toxic, carcinogenic, or mutagenic. No such products

have been found in irradiated foods, despite the ability to detect the

substances down to the part-per-quadrillion level. (1 ) Repeated

irradiation does not create microorganisms that are more resistant to

irradiation or able to produce more toxins than preceding generations.

Evidence from numerous experiments shows that such mutations can occur only

under laboratory conditions and that the mutated microorganisms cannot

survive in competition with unirradiated and concurrent microorganisms. (2)



Lavietes suggests that building irradiation facilities is too costly and

unsafe. More than 40 irradiation facilities in the United States currently

sterilize medical devices and supplies in a cost-effective and safe manner.

Some of the very equipment that Lavietes uses in his own practice probably

has been irradiated for reasons of safety. In most instances, the design of

food irradiators will be very similar to medical-sterilization irradiators

because of the similar requirements for licensing the facilities. The use

of irradiation facilities for processing food may prove to be cost

effective and safe, as shown with the use of such facilities for medical

devices and supplies. Irradiated foods have been sold on a limited basis in

this country and have competed very favorably with nonirradiated foods.



I appreciate Cockerill's reinforcement of the scientific facts surrounding

the use of food irradiation. Both the FDA and the Department of Agriculture

regulate the irradiation of various food products. It is the job of the

public health and medical communities to educate consumers, which in turn

will convince the food wholesalers and retailers that the widespread use of

irradiation or other cold-pasteurization processes is in the best interest

of all of us.



Michael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Minnesota Department of Health

Minneapolis, MN 55440



References



1. Murano EA. Food irradiation: a sourcebook: Ames: Iowa State University

Press, 1995.

Return to Text



2.Food and Agriculture Organization. The microbiological safety of

irradiated food. Rome: Codex Alimentarius Commission, 1982. CX/FH 83/9."



Richard P. Petit, Jr.

Radiation Safety Office

Marshall University

Huntington WV 25704