Irradiated Foods

No Germs, No Bugs, and No Nutrients

Food irradiation is the process by which food is passed through and enclosed chamber where it is exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation in the form of gamma rays from Cobalt-60, X-rays or electron beams. Irradiation disrupts the genetic material of contaminating organisms impairing their ability to survive or multiply. Irradiation can kill most food borne bacteria. It can extend the shelf life of produce and can kill or sterilize invasive pests. Irradiation damages protein, nutrients, and vitamins in food and significantly alters the composition creating chemicals which do not occur naturally in food.

Irradiation depletes the nutritional value of food by destroying or disrupting vitamins, enzymes, proteins and other nutrients. Virtually all vitamins exposed to this process suffer measurable losses. Irradiation is known as a cold process.The high-energy irradiation blast breaks molecules and DNA, and creates free radicals that damage vitamins and damage or kill the living enzymes in fresh foods. Vegetarians who buy irradiated raw foods in order to eat them raw will receive a nutritionally inferior product. Also, new, untested chemicals and small amounts of carcinogens are created. There are no long-term human feeding studies, and only one small study on children which showed health effects.

Hundreds of animal feeding studies of irradiated food, including multigenerational studies, have been performed since 1950. Endpoints investigated have included subchronic and chronic changes in metabolism, histopathology, and function of most systems; reproductive effects; growth; teratogenicity; and mutagenicity. A large number of studies have been performed, some having demonstrated adverse effects of irradiation, and some concluding the process yields safer foods

Irradiation can be used to kill bacteria that cause food poisoning, such as salmonella, campylobacter and E. It can also delay fruit ripening and help stop vegetables such as potatoes and onions from sprouting. Irradiated foods are now eaten worldwide: spices, dried fruits and nuts as well as fresh fruit and meat, including chicken, pork and beef. Seafood and frog legs are irradiated to insure freshness. Irradiation of spices and seasonings reduces the dependency for the chemical fumigant methyl bromide. Fruits such as avocados, mangoes, and papayas imported into the United States have been approved by the FDA to receive irradiation treatments us to 1 kGy maximum to control non-native insects such as the Mediterranean fruit fly or Medfly.

Tropical fruits are susceptible to many postharvest diseases. They are sensitive to chilling injury, and cannot be kept at low temperatures. It is very important to harvest tropical fruits at the right stage of maturity. Treatments with sulfur dioxide, fungicides and antioxidants help to reduce losses of tropical fruits from postharvest diseases, as does careful attention to humidity and temperature. Most important is careful handling to minimize injuries. Bruised fruit, or fruit with a damaged skin, is more vulnerable to diseases, spoils more quickly and sells more slowly.

 In both domestic and international agricultural markets, expanding the use of irradiation can help to reduce the need for methyl bromide for the post-harvest control of insect pests. Irradiation is used as a pest control tool in over 40 countries, including the United States, Russia, Great Britian and Brazil (Nordion 1995). The disinfestation of grain as it enters the Soviet Union at the Black Sea Port of Odessa, estimated at over 500,000 metric tons per year, is one of the largest documented commercial industrial applications (Giddings 1991).

In the United States, the FDA approved low-doses irradiation for wheat, wheat flour, and potatoes in the early 1960s. In 1984 and 1985, the FDA approved irradiation of spices and pork, and in the following year, approved low-dose irradiation (up to 1 kGy) to control insects in foods and extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables (Kader 1986, Morrison 1989). Irradiation has also been used to sterilize food for U.S. hospital patients and astronauts (Morrison 1992). Further, irradiation disinfestation has been found to be effective for treatment of dried fruits, spices, nuts, cut flowers, lumber, and wood chips (ICGFI 1994, Marcotte 1992, Morrison 1989, OTA 1985).

The above information presents a very strong argument for eating only organic food. Irradiated food may have a long life, and no bugs, but it has little in the way of nutrients.