Food Irradiation Update is published by the Minnesota Beef Council

Quotable Quotes:

"In the name of common sense, the whole nation needs to get on with the (irradiation) program, with the prime mover being USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. Perhaps it is time for all citizens, not just readers of BEEF, to lobby that organization for a call to action."

Albert Koltveit, DVM, MS; Port Ludlow, Washington

ìNothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.î

Marie Curie, Polish Nobel Prize-winning chemist (1867-1934).

"Now that the USDA has approved irradiation of spinach, consumers will realize this is a safe and effective means of killing the bacteria that may cause E. coli,î he said. ìAnd adopting it will add another level of safety to an already extremely safe product. Weíre working with area producers to address any logistical or perceptual issues they may have about this."

Dr. Larry Stein, AgriLife Extension horticulturist at the Uvalde center, Texas A&M University

In This Update:

Marler Blog: Pros and Cons of Commercial Irradiation of Fresh Iceberg Lettuce and Fresh Spinach (Part II)

Get on with Irradiation

Is it possible to make food 100% safe?

Texas Spinach Growers Still Packing Punch Despite Reduced Acreage

Large Irradiation Facility Planned at Hyderabad, India

Spinach, lettuce irradiation just a beginning?

Important Food Safety Links:

Kansas State University

Marler Blog

Food Irradiation Processing Alliance (FIPA)

MARLER BLOG: Part II: Pros and Cons of Commercial Irradiation of Fresh Iceberg Lettuce and Fresh Spinach:

a literature review; Marler Blog by Bill Marler

Editorial Opinion: Is it possible to make food 100% safe? Capitol Press (October 28, 2008):

Members of California's Leafy Green Handler Marketing Agreement board must have been shaking their heads last Friday as they drove to Santa Maria for their regular meeting. Radios that morning were playing news reports of yet another Escherichia coli O167:H7 illness outbreak blamed on California produce.

The handlers' agreement, made in late 2006, is the industry answer to a 2006 E. coli outbreak that went on and on, threatening to derail consumer trust in fresh spinach. It included a marathon legislative hearing, with the specter of massive government regulation. Then growers stepped forward to make their pact with California Department of Food and Agriculture. By July 2007, the process resulted in a set of handler standards backed up with mandatory CDFA audit to ensure compliance with safety standards.

The most recent case involves iceberg lettuce, washed and pre-cut, then delivered in food-service-size bags to some Michigan universities and a jail. The Michigan Department of Community Health said a total of 36 cases of illness were related - by genetic match of E. coli - and linked to Aunt Mid's Produce Co., a Detroit distributor.

Onset of sickness was placed at Sept. 9-18. By the time inspectors got to both the kitchens that prepared the salad and to the cooler at the Detroit distributor, there wasn't a bag of that lot of lettuce left to test. Tests of other produce at Aunt Mid's found no contamination.

What was left were the distributor's records that said "California" as a point of origin. As Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, told the Monterey Herald, "If it's California-bagged lettuce, there's a real probability that it will be tied to our area, or to somebody we know." That's an embarrassment for an industry that's bent over backwards to regain consumer confidence after very difficult times.

So how do you promise 100 percent safety from food-borne illness? The answer is that you can't, short of processes such as irradiating produce after it's bagged and ready to ship and stepped-up rinsing before leafy greens are served.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave an OK to irradiation in August, in response to a petition filed years ago by the Grocery Manufacturers Association of America.

Readers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, responding to a story of the FDA irradiation announcement, overwhelmingly expressed their distrust for government and food processors.

"Consumers are blind to knowing what they are actually purchasing," said one reader remark. A more-reasoned response likened irradiation to the long-accepted pasteurization of milk.

Guess what else FDA said in approving iceberg lettuce and spinach irradiation? Wash all leafy green vegetables before eating.

That's the answer if you are looking for removing most food-borne pathogens from your greens.

Large Irradiation Facility Planned at Hyderabad, India; (October 28, 2008):) Hyderabad Business Standard:

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India: The state horticulture mission, Andhra Pradesh, and the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, are chalking out plans to set up an irradiation unit in close proximity to the international airport near Shamshabad on the city outskirts.

Speaking to Business Standard here on Monday, H. Arun Kumar, executive director, state horticulture mission, said the facility will be set up at an estimated investment of Rs 15 crore (US$3.03 million) in a public-private partnership mode.

ìThe facility will be a 100 per cent export-oriented unit for processing onions, chillies and mangoes. We are currently drafting a detailed project report and will soon call for expression of interest. The unit is expected to be fully operational by next year,î Kumar said.

Meanwhile, the state horticulture mission, under the aegis of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci), is holding a one-day workshop on ëPost harvest infrastructure in horticultureí in Hyderabad on October 30, 2008.

ìThe main objective of the programme is to enable the stakeholders to familiarise with the latest techniques in processing of horticulture produce with a view to reducing post harvest losses and thereby enabling the growers to earn additional income,î Fapcci president Suraj Prasad Agarwal said. About 300 delegates are expected to participate

Read more here....

Spinach, lettuce irradiation just a beginning? Southeast Farm Press; by Jim Langcuster, Auburn University

Jean Weese could be described as the Barbara Mandrell of food safety. In the fashion of Mandrell, the singer who embraced country music long before it became cool or acceptable in many quarters, Weese, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System food scientist and Auburn University professor of nutrition and food science, was touting the benefits of irradiation even while many watchdog groups considered it well beyond the parameters of respectable discourse.

Now, after years of what seemed like a long trek through the desert, she and many of her colleagues feel vindicated ó at least partly. The federal government announced in August that it would allow food producers to subject spinach and lettuce to mild doses of radiation to kill food-borne pathogens.

In announcing its decision, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated that it believed irradiation not only will go a long way toward ridding foods of potentially harmful pathogens but also would extend the productsí shelf lives ó something Weese and other experts have argued frequently and passionately for years.

As far as sheís concerned, FDAís decision is long overdue. Read more here....

Food Irradiation; Food, Nutrition & Science from the Lempert Report; (Sept. 29, 2008) by Allison Bloom, Staff Writer:

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) reports that about one-third to one-half of consumers are aware or somewhat aware of the process of food irradiation. About two-thirds of those consumers indicate that they would be willing to purchase foods treated with this process. Additional research studies at leading universities show that with education, at least 80 to 85 percent of consumers are willing to purchase irradiated foods. Does this willingness translate into dollars?

FoodNutritionSciencefromtheLempertReport@mail6.subscribermail.com

More articles of interest:

Irradiation a useful tool in promoting food safety

Scientist Says Irradiated Produce Poses No Health Risk

Minister Defends Canada's Food Safety System

Producers Go Hi-Tech Against Germs

Sadex Corporation Sees "Green" After FDA Announcement

Retailers Favor Irradiation Increase

A Boost for Food Safety