| Irradiation is
a process of passing food through nuclear-derived gamma
rays before packaging. This process has become increasingly
popular with the food industry in recent years as a
way to increase shelf-life and combat food-borne diseases
such as E. coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella. In the 1960s,
the U.S. military first began serving irradiated foods
to its personnel. The FDA halted the use of these foods,
however, after irradiated sugar was shown to damage
human chromosomes and affect cell growth.
International food scares such as Mad Cow Disease
brought irradiation back with a vengeance in 2000,
when the USDA legalized the irradiation of beef and
other animal products. Most foods are now approved
for irradiation in the U.S., including grains, nuts,
seeds, fruits, and vegetables. While labeling is required
for any irradiated product sold in a store, restaurants
and cafeterias are not required to label these foods.
Currently, no long-term studies have been conducted
on food irradiation. Short-term studies have shown
irradiation to produce free radicals and other potentially
carcinogenic byproducts in the body. It has also been
shown to destroy important vitamins and enzymes in
food. After European studies demonstrated that irradiated
fats contain cancer-causing properties, the European
Union limited food irradiation to spices and dried
herbs.
Proponents of food irradiation emphasize its important
role in making foods safe. Similar in function to
taking a pill to mask the symptoms of an illness,
however, irradiating food does not address the underlying
problem. It merely allows unhealthy and inhumane cycles
of growing and production to continue. Only by breaking
this cycle will change occur—a change we can
all support by refusing to purchase irradiated foods.
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