Food Irradiation in the news

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

Greetings Fellow RadSafers,

Just an FYI about food irradiation in the news.  WRC-TV (NBC) Channel 4 in
Washington, D.C. did a segment on food irradiation last night at 11:00, and it
was well-done (or at least favorable) in my opinion.  Although I've not yet read
the directions to my new VCR (and consequently did not record the segment), I
did take a few notes on what was presented.

The reporter (Liz Crenshaw) began with "although it sounds frightening", but
continued on to let the audience know that it kills bacteria, which will keep
you from getting sick.  Bacteria such as E. Coli and salmonella were
specifically mentioned.  She also mentioned that the government has approved the
use of irradiation on meat, poultry, and some fruits, but that it is not widely
used as of yet.

Donald Thayer of the USDA Agricultural Research Service was interviewed, and he
provided a tour of the USDA food irradiation research facility in Pennsylvania.
"Food is bombarded by radiation," and the scientists count the bacteria present
in the food afterwards, Ms. Crenshaw said.  Dr. Thayer then stated that "the
only bacteria left are dead bacteria."  He stressed that there is NO health
concern whatsoever, that the product is never in contact with the radioactive
source, and that the food is NOT radioactive after it is passed through the
irradiator.

The reporter also interviewed Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the
Public Interest.  Mr. Jacobson did not appear to be a critic of irradiation, but
rather worries that the approval of irradiation will enable food processors to
run dirty plants.  If we concentrate our efforts in promoting sanitary
conditions, we'd have no need for irradiation.

Some consumers at a local grocery store were then interviewed, and each one said
they would NOT buy irradiated food.  They think it is unhealthy, and the first
thing one woman thought of is cancer.  So "consumer acceptance is still iffy."

Finally, the reporter mentioned the effect of irradiation on taste.  She and
some local restaurant workers cooked some irradiated chicken and agreed that
there is no difference.  "Tastes like chicken, and none of us glowed in the
dark."

Overall, I think it was very favorable.  The critic was not so much adverse to
irradiation itself, but rather to the focus of the government's efforts on
fighting bad sanitary conditions.  And of course, the truths about irradiation
were presented up front, which is a plus.

If you have any comments or suggestions, the reporter's e-mail address is given
below, along with that of the editors and the feedback line (taken from the NBC4
homepage).  The NBC4 Consumer Watch page should be updated with a complete
manuscript of the segment fairly soon.  Its address is also given below.

Liz Crenshaw, Consumer Reports
NEWS4consumer@nbc.com
http://www.nbc4.com/consumer/consumer.html?acso=rrdb

News4 Editors
news4wa@tvswrc.nbc.com

Feedback
nbc4dc@nbc.com

Karl Fischer
Physical Science Tech
Radiation Safety Branch, NIH
kwf@nih.gov