In October 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a draft risk assessment on the levels of contaminants in spices. The report made headlines nationwide for including the finding that 12 percent of spices imported to the U.S. were contaminated with everything from insects and rodent excrement to human
Continue Reading Food Irradiation: Facts and Figures
Live Fresh Oysters Will Be Zapped for Vibrio at Biloxi Airport
Down in Pass Christian at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, as the adjoining waters of the Gulf of Mexico warm, Crystal Seas Seafood is offering its customers something new that the seafood company is calling “Crystal Clear Oysters.” The “live,” in-shell oysters are kept cold from reef to table
Continue Reading Live Fresh Oysters Will Be Zapped for Vibrio at Biloxi Airport
FDA Expands Irradiation Uses for Meat and Poultry
Meat and poultry producers who use ionized radiation to kill pathogens in product now have expanded options, thanks to two rules published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday. The first rule allows for the irradiation of unrefrigerated raw meat. Previously, only refrigerated or frozen meats could be irradiated,
Continue Reading FDA Expands Irradiation Uses for Meat and Poultry
Canadians Support Food Irradiation Once They Know About It
A public opinion survey has surfaced in Canada that shows folks do not know much about food irradiation, but suggests they might support its use.
The 65-year old Consumer Association of Canada released the Food Irradiation Survey last week. It was conducted last Feb. 7 and 8 by Angus Reid
Continue Reading Canadians Support Food Irradiation Once They Know About It
Clearing the Way for Irradiation
Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began clearing irradiated foods for sale in 1963, few such foods have attained much prevalence within grocery store aisles. In fact, most markets still do not carry irradiated meats like beef, pork and poultry, despite those products becoming cleared for sale in
Is It Time to Accept Food Irradiation?
When it comes to ensuring that food enters the market carrying as few pathogens and insects as possible, the large majority of health, governmental and scholarly authorities seem to agree — food irradiation is an effective final safety measure.
In the face of the country’s worst outbreak of foodborne illness
Did FSIS Blow a Chance to Make Beef Even Safer?
Last Friday, Dr. Betsy Booren, Director of Scientific Affairs at the American Meat Institute, received a long-awaited letter from the Food Safety Inspection Service. It had been five long years almost to the day since the AMI had petitioned them to “Recognize the Use of E-beam on Carcasses as a
Continue Reading Did FSIS Blow a Chance to Make Beef Even Safer?
Meat Industry Petition for Beef Irradiation Denied
Eighteen months ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) signaled that the meat industry’s 2005 request to use low-dose irradiation as a processing aid to reduce unwanted microbes — and not have to label the meat as irradiated — was not getting much traction.
Late
Continue Reading Meat Industry Petition for Beef Irradiation Denied
German E. coli Crisis Revives Irradiation Debate
The E. coli crisis currently sickening more than 3,800 and attributed to German-grown sprouts illustrates the need to keep produce safe, and the way to do this is through irradiation. So argues a recent opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal.
The article, “Europe’s Organic Food Scare,”
Continue Reading German E. coli Crisis Revives Irradiation Debate
Texas Researchers Devise New Irradiation Method
Food-safety engineers from Texas AgriLife Research at Texas A&M University report they’ve devised a method to reduce the amount of irradiation needed to kill pathogens like Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7 that can contaminate fresh produce.
That’s significant not for safety reasons–irradiation does not cause foods to become radioactive and
Continue Reading Texas Researchers Devise New Irradiation Method