APHA endorsement of radiation of food

["William P. Kirk (717) 783-9730" <KIRK.WILLIAM@a1.pader.gov>]

Greetings Radsafers

This post is to inform you that the Governing Council of the American Public
Health Association (APHA), the worlds largest organization concerned with
public health, at its annual meeting in Washingto on November 18, 1998, 
passed a policy resolution titled "Use of Radiation Pasteurization of Food
as an Adjunct to Sanitation and HACCP Procedures to Improve the Safety of 
the Food Supply."  This resolution endorses radiation pasteurization of 
foods approved by the FDA for irradiation and under conditions allowed by
the FDA and USDA.  The endorsement was limited to machine generated
radiation (Electron Beam Accelerators and X-ray machines) because of
concerns on the part of several APHA sections about occupational, 
environmental, and transportation issues associated with the use of
irradiators. (No lectures please, we tried very hard to get a blanket
endorsement).

This resolution was sponsored by the Radiological Health Section of APHA
which has been working on the issue for about six years.

As the interim (and outgoing) Chair of the RH Section, I as sorry to inform
you that the Section has been downgraded to a Special Interest Group, a
lower category of membership group, because of our inability to maintain
the required 250 members.

Regards

Bill Kirk
kirk.william@a1.dep.state.pa.us 

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