FDA allows irradiation of spinach and lettuce
August 28th, 2008 by Carly M. Alaimo in Food & Life, Food media
Last Friday, the Food and Drug Administration gave the go-ahead for irradiation of spinach and lettuce (and possibly tomatoes) in response to recent outbreaks of E.Coli and salmonella in our produce. Grocers and food-industry groups have been ready for the irradiation allowance for quite a while, but are consumers?
When I read about the FDA’s nod of approval to have our veggies zapped with gamma rays, the high pressure-hosing scenes from Silkwood haunted me every time I glanced in the direction of a salad. A bit extreme, I know, but quite frankly, radiation is scary. And I will admit I had some questions.
Turns out, a lot of our meat, fruit, and imported spices have been irradiated for years. Fortunately, labels will let you know which products are treated with electronic pasteurization, so if you’re not down with irradiation just yet, don’t buy the beef (or vegetables) with the Radura logo.
To answer my main concern, no, irradiated food is not radioactive, just as your snapped collarbone isn’t radioactive after an X-ray. According to the FDA, irradiation is a perfectly safe and an efficient sanitation tactic, and with all of the positive irradiation research, who’s to say it isn’t?
NASA used irradiation to protect astronauts’ meals for space flights. And there are a lot of benefits to irradiation; it increases the shelf life and delays spoilage of perishable foods, destroys those nasty food-borne illnesses like E. Coli, salmonella, and listeria, all while preserving nutritious value and taste.
Critics of irradiation think it’s a half-assed technical fix, a way for food industries to avoid cleaning up the real contamination issues, such as factory farms packed with cattle sleeping in their own manure, which are fed grainy-foods (which causes E. Coli to run ramped in their digestive systems) instead of grass. When these cows are swiftly herded through the slaughter line, their feces contaminate the meat. But why worry? There is a light at the end of this shitty conveyor belt to eliminate the doo and disease, and that is radiant energy.
Scientists have also identified a class of chemicals, called cyclobutanones that are only present in irradiated foods, which have the potential to accelerate the growth of cancer in humans (the FDA has yet to find anything similar).
It all comes down to consumer preference. If you’re still skeptical, look out for the labels or go organic. Personally, I’ll wait a while before I knowingly sample something irradiated. And I’m also eager to see if any American salad-eaters start glowing in the dark.
Send to a friend:
August 29th, 2008 at 5:13 am
“And I’m also eager to see if any American salad-eaters start glowing in the dark.”
Lame.
August 29th, 2008 at 8:00 am
It makes you wonder what the government has been hiding from us. Thank you for making this process more clear to us salad eaters.
August 30th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I do not think it is a good idea. The irradiation also destroys the nutrients and minerals that we so vitally need for a healthy body. We have so many lifestyle based degenerative diseases that we can’t afford to give up any more nutrients. Spinach is one of best vegatables for calcium, magnesium, manganese and silicon.
September 4th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I think this is a very informative article and we all need to be aware of what is going on with the things we put in our body. Thanks for the information!