Fwd: Food Irradiation and You

["Michael C. Baker" <mcbaker@lanl.gov>]

The following was emailed out today from Public Citizen.  I thought several
of you might be interested in sending comments to the FDA or your
congressman/senator to counter this effort.

Mike ... mcbaker@lanl.gov


>Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 16:23:00 -0400
>From: Korey Hartwich <hartwich@citizen.org>
>Subject: Food Irradiation and You
>Organization: Public Citizen
>
>==============================================================
>Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project
>==============================================================
>
>
>		Unless you act by May 18, the Nuclear Industry
>	  Will Succeed in Forcing Irradiated Food Down Our Throats!
>
>*** A new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule would allow manufacturers
>to sell irradiated food without any label warning consumers. By nullifying
>the chief obstacle to the expanded use of radiation --consumer
>opposition-- this rule would pave the way for a significant expansion of the
>sale of irradiated food and give a boost to the nuclear industry.
>
>	      	   This would be a disaster!!!
>
>*** Over 550 new facilities would need to be built to irradiate various
>foodstuffs if irradiation expands to according to industry projections.
>
>*** Food irradiation facilities have a frightening record of accidents and
>other safety incidents.
>
>*** According to a Carnegie-Mellon study, operating irradiators just to
>treat meat and poultry (much less spices, wheat, and other foodstuffs) would
>be extremely risky, with a 99.7% chance of multiple major incidents at these
>facilities (a major incident is defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
>(NRC) as "those that result in a release or spill of radioactive material,
>bodily harm, or a long term shut down of the facility").
>
>*** The long term health effects of eating irradiated food are unknown.
>Irradiation reduces the vitamin content of food and creates new chemical
>substances called radiolytic products.  Some of these substances are known
>carcinogens, like benzene, and others are completely new substances that
>have not been tested for toxicity.
>
>	      	   ***  ACT NOW!!!  ***
>     		      ** What you can do today **
>
>*** Please write to the FDA and demand that the comment period be extended
>past May 18.  Tell the FDA that food treated with radiation be indefinitely
>labeled with the radura (the international symbol for irradiated food) and a
>statement indicating it was treated with radiation.  Say the absence of such
>a statement would be misleading because irradiation destroys vitamins and
>causes changes in sensory and spoilage qualities that are not obvious or
>expected by the consumer.  Please DO NOT write a general statement opposing
>irradiation. The powers that be have already approved irradiation, we can
>only fight to keep the public informed (A sample letter can be found below).
>
>*** Write your Representative and Senators, telling them to oppose the FDA
>rule (a sample letter can be found below).
>
>*** Send this e-mail to as many concerned citizens as possible.
>
>When writing to FDA, refer to Docket #98N-1038, "Irradiation in the
>production, processing, and handling of food".
>
>Send comments before May 18, 1999 to:
>Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305)
>Food and Drug Administration
>5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
>Rockville, MD  20852
>or
>Send e-mail to FDADockets@oc.fda.gov and/or FDADockets@fda.gov
>(Put Docket #98N-1038 in the subject line)
>
>NOTE: E-mail is discouraged because e-mails are often thrown out.  A written
>letter is the most effective means of communication.
>
>SAMPLE LETTER TO FDA:
>
>Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305)
>Food and Drug Administration
>5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
>Rockville, Maryland 20852
>
>Re: Docket No. 98N-1038, Irradiation in the Production, Processing, and
>Handling of Food
>
>To whom it may concern:
>
>	I support the recommendation by the Center for Science in the Public
>Interest regarding labeling of irradiated foods:
>
>	"any foods, or any foods containing ingredients that have been treated by
>irradiation, should be labeled with a written statement on the principal
>display panel indicating such treatment. The statement should be easy to
>read and placed in close proximity to the name of the food and accompanied
>by the international symbol. If the food is unpackaged, this information
>should be clearly displayed on a poster in plain view and adjacent to where
>the product is displayed for sale."
>
>	Like other labels, irradiation labels are required by the FDA to be
>truthful and not misleading. I believe that the terms "treated with
>radiation" or "treated by irradiation" should be retained. Any phrase
>involving the word "pasteurization" is misleading because pasteurization is
>an entirely different process of rapid heating and cooling.
>
>	I recognize the radura as information regarding a material fact of food
>processing. The requirement for irradiation disclosure (both label and
>radura) should not expire at any time in the future. The material fact of
>processing remains. Even if some consumers become familiar with the radura,
>new consumers (e.g., young people, immigrants) will not be. The symbol
>should be clearly understandable at the point of purchase for everyone. If
>there is no label, consumers will be misled into believing the food has not
>been irradiated.
>
>	I urge you to extend the comment period past its current end date of May 18
>to allow more concerned citizens the time to write in about this issue.
>Also, please place the comments received on the Internet so that the public
>can be informed about who is participating in this comment process.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>
>SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS
>
>The Honorable [	]
>Washington, D.C. [	]
>
>Senator/Representative  [	],
>
>	I have recently been made aware of a frightening development at the Food
>and Drug Administration.  Under pressure from food manufacturers and
>supporters of the nuclear industry, the FDA is considering a rule that would
>remove labeling requirements for foods treated with radiation.  The public
>only has until May 18 to voice its objections to this rule.  Currently, any
>food treated with radiation during the production process is labeled with a
>symbol known as a radura (the international symbol for irradiated foods) and
>either a statement saying "treated with radiation" or "treated by
>irradiation."  The rule before the FDA would allow manufacturers to sell any
>and all irradiated foods to the consumer with nary a mention of the use of
>radiation during processing.  This is bad for consumers.
>
>	Despite the fact that the FDA has determined that radiation is safe for
>food, many consumers, including myself, do not want to eat foods treated
>with radiation.  Radiation changes the texture, taste, nutritional value,
>and chemical composition of foods.  Radiation creates a heretofore unseen
>class of unique radiolytic products that have never been tested for their
>possible carcinogenic effects on humans.  These are things that I do not
>want to put into my body.
>
>	This is a clear cut issue of a consumer being able to know what is in their
>food.  We know what the fat, protein, carbohydrate, and vitamin content is
>in our food, why can we not know whether our food has been treated with
>radiation emanating from some of the most deadly substances known to man?  I
>implore you, as a constituent and a friend, to write a letter to the FDA
>about this issue and ask them why your constituents should be kept in the
>dark about whether their food has been irradiated and why the comment period
>has been so short.  Enclosed you will find the letter that I wrote to the
>FDA about this issue.  I hope it is helpful in formulating your own
>comments.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>
>======================================================
>Questions about the CMEP-list can be directed to cmep@citizen.org
>========================================================

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