National Food Processors Association attempts Greenwash:
Food Irradiation Coalition Petitions FDA to Allow Use of
Irradiation on Variety of Ready-to-Eat Foods

Campaign for Food Safety Comments:
The petition described below is at http://www.nfpa-food.org/
The statement below that "Health and consumer groups have reluctantly
endorsed irradiation" implies a consensus that doesn't exist. Is the
AMA a "health" organization? Consumer Alert, the only "consumer
group" favoring the petition, is essentially a front group for big
corporations.
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Groups Urge Irradiation of Processed Food
Tuesday, August 24, 1999 Reuters

WASHINGTON--A food industry coalition asked the U.S.
government Monday to approve irradiation of ready-to-eat
meats, fruits and vegetables, expanding the use of a
technology it contends could improve food safety by killing
dangerous germs.
Twenty-eight groups petitioned the Food and Drug
Administration to allow irradiation, which has already been
approved for raw ground beef, for foods such as hot dogs
and luncheon meats, fresh fruits and vegetables and juices.
Such processed food makes up about 37% of the $750 billion
worth of food Americans consume each year.
The Food Irradiation Coalition, which includes the
National Food Processors Assn. and the American Meat
Institute, said irradiation would give food processors
another important tool to help make foods safer.
"Irradiation is an effective and safe technique," said
Rhona Applebaum of the food processors group. "We support
its use in further enhancing the safety of our food
supply."
Irradiation exposes foods to tiny amounts of electron
beams or gamma rays that kill deadly bacteria. Originally
developed to protect food for U.S.astronauts, irradiation
can kill germs such as E. coli, a bacterium that sickens an
estimated 20,000 Americans each year, and listeria
monocytogenes,which earlier this year killed 21 people who
ate contaminated hot dogs made by Sara Lee Corp.
Health and consumer groups have reluctantly supported
irradiation as a way to protect children, the elderly and
others with weak immune systems.
The FDA, which has pledged to make food safety a
priority, has 180 days to respond to the petition. A
spokeswoman said Monday that the agency had not yet
received the petition and therefore could not comment.
Irradiation is used on a small portion of U.S. foods,
mostly spices and some poultry products. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture has not yet finalized rules that
would allow irradiation of raw ground beef even though the
FDA has approved it.
Some groups, however, have raised questions about
worker safety and said they would prefer that the industry
focus on improving processing conditions to further reduce
contamination.
Now, processors use a wide variety of procedures such
as refrigeration and pasteurization to prevent
contamination and keep foods
fresh.

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