FDA Approves Beef Irradiation

["Fischer, Karl" <kfischer@exchange.nih.gov>]

         ** Mail from Medphys Listserver **

December 2, 1997
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration today approved use of
irradiation to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli in beef, a decision
favored by the beef industry. Dr. Michael Friedman, acting FDA
commissioner,
said in an interview that irradiation will become a useful tool in
combating
food-borne illness, but that ultimate responsibility still will rest
with the
food handler and preparer. Some anti-nuclear activists have protested
irradiation as unsafe, but Friedman said FDA scientists determined that
the
process does not change the fundamental properties of meat and does not
make
it radioactive.