Re: ?? Food Irradiation - Help

[Rrk099 <Rrk099@aol.com>]

Greetings,

As the former director of New York City's radiation protection program, I
dealt with this issue.  It would appear that the Wellness Newsletter is
somewhat out of date with respect to New York State.  While it is true that
the Agriculture and Markets Law of New York State (Article 17, Section 199-e)
did prohibit the sale of irradiated food, that particular section expired on
September 1, 1995 and was not re-enacted.  Thus, there is no prohibition at
the current time.

FYI, this section reads as follows:

*   §  199-e.   Prohibition  as  to  sale  of  irradiated  foods.   1.
Definitions.  As used in this section, the following  definitions  shall
apply:
  (a)  "Food"  means  fruits,  vegetables,  meats,  poultry, eggs, dairy
products and other natural and processed products offered for  sale  for
human or animal consumption.
  (b)  "Irradiated  food" means any food treated with ionizing radiation
from radioactive sources, X-rays, or electron  beams  and  includes  any
food  which  contains  an ingredient that has been irradiated; provided,
however, that if the irradiated ingredients of any food  consist  solely
of  spices  which have been so treated, such food shall not be deemed an
irradiated food on account of such irradiated spices.
  2.   Sale  of  irradiated  food  prohibited;  exception.   It shall be
unlawful for any merchant, broker or processor to knowingly sell,  offer
for  sale  or  expose  for  sale  an irradiated food except as otherwise
provided in this subdivision, whether or not such food is deemed  to  be
adulterated  under  the  provisions  of subdivision six-a of section two
hundred  of  this  article.   It  shall  not  be  unlawful  under   this
subdivision  for  any  merchant,  broker or processor to knowingly sell,
offer for sale or expose for  sale  an  irradiated  food  to  a  general
hospital  for  use as part of a medical regimen in the care or treatment
of persons with immune system deficiency or other disease, provided  the
irradiated  food is packaged with or accompanied by a warning label that
it is intended for hospital use only by such persons.
  3.  Penalties.  (a) Any person violating any provision of this article
shall be subject to a penalty in the sum of not less  than  two  hundred
dollars  and not more than ten thousand dollars; provided, however, that
for a violation by a retail merchant the penalty shall be not less  than
fifty dollars and shall not exceed five hundred dollars.
  (b)  For the purposes of this section, each day on which an irradiated
food is unlawfully  offered  or  exposed  for  sale  or  exchange  shall
constitute a separate violation.
  (c)  For  the purposes of this section, the unlawful offer for sale or
exchange of a group of identical consumer commodities  shall  constitute
but  a  single violation, and the unlawful offer for sale or exchange of
different groups of identical consumer commodities  shall  constitute  a
separate violation for each group.
  4.   Applicability.  The provisions of this section shall not apply to
irradiated foods purchased prior to the effective date of this  section.
  5.  Effectiveness. The provisions of this section shall be of no force
or effect on and after September first, nineteen hundred ninety-five.

* NB Expires 95/09/01

Regards,
Bob Kulikowski
(Rrk099@aol.com)