Food irradiation, Health risks, Misleading consumers, Misuse
of the technology
Food irradiation is being promoted by some international
bodies and industry groups as the answer to the growing
problem of food poisoning, and as a means to combat world
hunger by reducing spoilage and extending food shelf life. A
proposal to relax the global standards governing food
irradiation, including the removal of the current maximum
irradiation dose limit, is now under discussion.
The
European Commission is also deliberating over whether to
extend its list of foods permitted for irradiation in all EU
member states. The current list includes only herbs, spices
and vegetable seasonings, but the possible extension would
mean many other foods could be irradiated in all member
states. Yet consumer concerns persist over the numerous
potential negative impacts of irradiating food.
Health Risks
Food irradiation can result in loss of nutrients, for example
vitamin E levels can be reduced by 25% after irradiation and
vitamin C by 5-10%. This is compounded by the longer storage
times of irradiated foods, and by loss of nutrients during
cooking, which can result in the food finally eaten by the
consumer to contain little more than 'empty calories'. This is
potentially damaging to the long and short-term health of
consumers, particularly for sections of society already
failing to obtain adequate nutrition.
When food is exposed to high doses of ionising radiation, the
chemical composition and nutritional content of food can
change. Radiolytic by-products are often formed in irradiated
food. Very few of these chemicals have been adequately studied
for toxicity. One such chemical - 2-DCB - can cause DNA damage
in rat colon cells at high doses.
Food irradiation does not inactivate dangerous toxins which
have already been produced by bacteria prior to irradiation.
In some cases, such as C. botulinum, it is the toxin produced
by the bacteria, rather than the bacteria itself, which poses
the health hazard.
Extension of the EU list of foods permitted for irradiation
could mean that in future a significant part of the diet of
consumers will consist of irradiated foods. The long-term
impacts of this to health remain unknown. Far more research is
required prior to exposing populations to such a diet.
Irradiating products such as mechanically recovered chicken
meat, offal and egg white, could mislead consumers into
thinking these are safer. There is therefore a risk that
consumers will fail to take necessary measures to prevent
cross-contamination. The risk of recontamination of food after
irradiation is very serious as a near sterile food is an ideal
medium for very rapid growth of re-introduced bacteria.
Irradiated food must therefore be handled with even greater
care in homes and restaurants.
Irradiation can cause mutations in bacteria and viruses
leading to potentially resistant strains.
Misleading Consumers
Irradiating fruit and vegetables to extend their shelf life
can mislead consumers by making 'old' food look 'fresh'. The
greater the age of fruit and vegetables, the lower their
nutritional value, not to mention the effects of ageing on
their tastes and flavours.
Consumers
may be dangerously misled because irradiation also unavoidably
kills off bacteria that produce warning smells indicating that
the food is going 'off'.
The irradiation of some products, such as dried fruit and
flakes or germs of cereal, often considered as health foods
(eg. muesli), could lead them to become misperceived by
consumers as inherently contaminated food types.
Misuse of the Technology
Food irradiation can and has been used to mask poor hygiene
practices in food production. With irradiation, contamination
can be sterilised. This reduces the incentive to clean up
sloppy food processing operations - the industry is provided
with a 'quick fix' as an alternative to dealing with the
sources of the problem. The consumer has a right to expect
clean food, yet irradiation can lead to the increased
production of food contaminated with dirt -'clean' dirt.
Irradiation can be used to maintain or even worsen poor
standards of animal husbandry. Overcrowding of animals whist
rearing and prior to slaughter, as well as the use of cheap
but inappropriate feeds, all contribute to contamination of
animal products such as meat, poultry and eggs. Cleaning up
these products at the end of the production line removes the
incentive to improve animal welfare.
Breaches of existing labelling legislation have occurred in
European countries, with the sale of unlabelled irradiated
foods. This was recently discovered to be occurring again by a
UK government detection survey which found that nearly half
the food supplements sampled were illegally irradiated and
unlabelled (see press releases). Under these circumstances the
consumers' right to choice is flouted. Relaxation of
irradiation standards could worsen this situation.
If they succeed, on-going industry efforts in the US to
substitute the term 'irradiation' on irradiated food labels
with terms such as 'cold pasteurisation' could serve to
confuse and mislead consumers.
The Safety of Workers
Workers risk accidental exposure to dangerous levels of
radiation, particularly at irradiation plants using
radioactive sources.
The use of irradiation to sterilise meat at the end of the
production line allows slaughter lines to be run at
dangerously high speeds, since the greater contamination that
occurs during high speed carving of carcasses can be 'cleaned
up' at the end of the line. This approach increases the risk
of accidents and fatalities by forcing meat packers to work
faster than ever.
Socio-Economic Costs
Food irradiation is not a low-cost method. Irradiation plants
are expensive and could help large multinationals to eliminate
smaller and more local producers. Requirements for improved
security measures at all facilities holding radioactive
materials, are likely to increase the costs of irradiation
plants, leading to an increase in the prices of irradiated
foods.
Irradiation
supports greater globalisation of food production and supply,
threatening local farmers and food processors.
Security Risks
It has been reported that numerous unrecovered losses and
thefts of radioactive materials occur each year. Recent events
have raised concerns over the potential for terrorists to
obtain these materials for use in 'dirty bombs'. A dirty bomb
uses conventional explosives to disperse radioactive
materials. Such an attack could cause radiation contamination
over several city blocks, but probably no deaths from
radiation because of the low doses as the material is
dispersed. Such an attack could spread panic and have
significant economic impacts. It would require lengthy cleanup
operations, although these materials are fairly easily
detected.
Environmental Impacts
Accidents at radioactive irradiation plants have already led
to radioactive spills and contamination of surrounding land
and water resources. This could happen again.
The construction of more irradiation plants could necessitate
more transportation of radioactive materials, entailing risks
of accidents and radioactive leaks over a wider area.
Irradiation allows food to be transported over greater
distances, leading to greater air pollution and greenhouse gas
emissions which contribute to global warming.
The Food Irradication Campaign Believes that
the precautionary principle should be asserted until chemical
by-products formed in irradiated foods have been adequately
studied for toxicity in compliance with modern scientific
protocols, and are proven safe for consumption.
food irradiation is no solution for cleaning up foods that are
contaminated due to unhygienic production lines.
priority should focus on improving production, storage, and
processing, rather than on killing off contamination at the
last stage.
food irradiation benefits the industry rather than consumers,
and large multinational companies rather than local and
small-scale producers.
food irradiation works against local food supplies and its
application for mass commodities is likely to undermine
sustainability.
Good food doesn't need irradiating.
Courtesy:
Medicalnewstoday.com
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Pakissan.com;
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