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Ellyn
Joined: 16 Jul 2000
Posts: 4458
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FDA proposes softening labeling req. for irradiated foods
 Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:39 am
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http://www1.venturacountystar.com/vcs/business/article/0,1375,VCS_128_5462022,00.html
FDA proposes softening labeling requirements for irradiated foods
By Andrew Bridges, The Associated Press
April 4, 2007
WASHINGTON — The government on Tuesday proposed relaxing its rules on labeling of irradiated foods and suggested it may allow some products zapped with radiation to be called "pasteurized."
The Food and Drug Administration said the proposed rule would require companies to label irradiated food only when the radiation treatment causes a material change to the product. Examples includes changes to the taste, texture, smell or shelf life of a food.
The FDA also proposed letting companies use the term "pasteurized" to describe irradiated foods. To do so, they would have to show the FDA that the radiation kills germs as well as the pasteurization process does. Pasteurization typically involves heating a product to a high temperature and then cooling it rapidly.
In addition, the proposal would let companies petition the agency to use additional alternate terms other than "irradiated."
The FDA posted the proposed revisions to its rules on irradiated foods on its Web site Tuesday, a day before they were to be published in the Federal Register. FDA will accept public comments on the proposal for 90 days. A consumer group immediately urged the FDA to drop the idea.
"This move by FDA would deny consumers clear information about whether they are buying food that has been exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation," Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said in a statement.
The FDA acknowledges in the proposed rule that allowing alternative ways of describing irradiation could confuse consumers: "Research indicates that many consumers regard substitute terms for irradiation to be misleading," the proposal reads in part. FDA officials were not immediately available for comment.
A 1984 FDA proposal to allow irradiated foods to go label-free garnered the agency more than 5,000 comments. Two years later, it reversed course and published a final rule that requires the small number of FDA-regulated foods now treated with radiation to bear identifying labels, including the radiation symbol.
The proposed rule would apply only to foods regulated by the FDA. |
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Ellyn
Joined: 16 Jul 2000
Posts: 4458
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| My Letter to the Editor of the Ventura County Star
Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:41 am
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My Letter to the Editor of the Ventura County Star
Food Irradiation is Dangerous!
Re: April 4 article: “FDA proposes softening labeling requirements for irradiated foods.”
Irradiating foods and not letting the consumer know about it is an absolute OUTRAGE! The FDA's proposal is totally unacceptable! Those of us who DO NOT want to purchase or ingest irradiated foods would lose our right to choose between irradiated and nonirradiated foods.
To read more about the dangers of food irradiation, check out: http://www.sustainable-city.org/articles/irradiat.htm . Nuclear Lunch: The Dangers and Unknowns of Food Irradiation
by Susan Meeker-Lowery and Jennifer Ferrara
Also the book: The Food That Would Last Forever: Understanding the Dangers of Food Irradiation (Paperback) by Gary Gibbs. Dr. Gibbs has done an excellent job of enlightening us as to the recklessness of the FDA in approving the irradiation of food. Illustrating this are these quotes from the book:
"Curiously, despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given food irradiation the green light, its own Recommendations for Evaluating the Safety of Foods (Final Report) stated that 'chronic feeding studies which have substituted up to thirty five percent of the normal [lab animal] diet with specific irradiated foods ... had to be terminated because of premature mortality and morbidity.' To put it plainly, the animals in these studies got sick and died."
"The people within the irradiation industry are very tightlipped about their activities, and the FDA does not require them to disclose such information for the public record. Indeed, many aspects of the FDA's food irradiation policy make it virtually impossible for the consumer to find out just how much of the food supply is being irradiated, or to know where these irradiated foods are being used."
How can we trust a government agency (FDA) that acquiesces to industry while ignoring it’s own evidence? |
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Ellyn
Joined: 16 Jul 2000
Posts: 4458
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| How to make a public comment to the FDA
Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:28 am
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The FDA posted the proposed rule changes on its Web site and will accept public comments on the proposal for 90 days. To view and comment on the proposal, go to the Regulations.gov search engine, enter "FDA-2007-0189-0001" in the Keyword or ID field (the other fields can be left as they are) and click Submit. In the two right-hand columns of the search results, you can click on icons to download a pdf of the document, view it online and make comments.
_____________________________________________
FROM: FDA Proposes Calling Irradiated Foods 'Pasteurized' (Incredible!)
Frontier Natural Products Coop newsletter - April 2007
http://www.rense.com/general76/past.htm |
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Ellyn
Joined: 16 Jul 2000
Posts: 4458
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| Do You Know What Pasteurization and Irradiation Really Mean?
Sat Apr 21, 2007 5:20 am
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If you do not want the FDA to irradiate your food and not let you know they are doing it, please post your comment. I have posted how to comment to the FDA about this issue on this thread.
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Do-You-Know-What-Pasteurization-and-Irradiation-Really-Mean--9733.aspx
Do You Know What Pasteurization and Irradiation Really Mean?
The FDA has proposed relaxing its rules on labeling of irradiated foods; it may allow some irradiated products to be labeled "pasteurized."
The change would require companies to label irradiated food only if the irradiation causes a material change to the product, such as changes to the taste, texture, smell or shelf life of a food.
Pasteurization usually means heating a product to a high temperature and then cooling it rapidly. The FDA proposed letting companies use the term "pasteurized" to describe irradiated foods if the radiation kills germs as well as the pasteurization process does.
The consumer group Food & Water Watch has urged the FDA to drop the idea. The FDA has acknowledged that the proposed change could confuse consumers.
USA Today April 4, 2007
MSNBC April 3, 2007
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
If the FDA gets its way, as long as the food looks and smells normal, chances are better than good you won't know whether that specific food has been "nuked" or not.
Rightly so, consumer groups aren't at all happy with the proposal that "would deny consumers clear information about whether they are buying food that has been exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation," according to Food & Water Watch. Industry groups like the Grocery Manufacturers/ Food Products Association are elated about it, however, considering the irradiated label has such a negative impact on consumers it acts like "a warning label."
Well, it should be a warning label.
Research has revealed a wide range of problems in animals that eat irradiated food, including premature death, a rare form of cancer, reproductive dysfunction, chromosomal abnormalities, liver damage, low weight gain and vitamin deficiencies. Irradiation also destroys vitamins, disrupts the chemical composition of food, and masks and encourages filthy conditions in slaughterhouses and food-processing plants.
All the more reason you should stay away from processed foods entirely, restrict your meat choices to grass-fed or organic meats and seek out local sources for the foods you eat.
Please read the discussion below, especially as it relates to almonds. Eighty percent of the world's crop comes from California, and the USDA recently announced that it will be irradiating the entire crop because there is "no nutritional difference."
Well, we know better, so if you like almonds I suggest contacting them at the link below.
Related Articles:
Nuclear Lunch: The Dangers and Unknowns of Food Irradiation
Top 10 Reasons For Opposing Food Irradiation
Food Irradiation Will Be Used To Mask Filthy Slaughtering and Food Processing Practices |
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