2008-08-27|Irradiation: A Safe Measure for Safer Food
To the editor
The President and Chief Executive Officer of Maple Leaf Foods took full responsibility for the listeria outbreak. He said that no matter how good the inspection programme is, it is not perfect. Testing 100 % of the meat is not a practical solution, but irradiating 100 % of the meat is.
Irradiation of food renders pathogens unable to reproduce, and destroys disease-causing micro-organisms such as Cyclospora, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Shilgella.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has evaluated irradiation safety for many years, and found the process safe and effective for many foods. The FDA has approved a long list of foods for irradiation since 1963. Health Canada also says that irradiated food is safe for human consumption.
Irradiated meat is "correct by production". Irradiation should be mandatory instead of testing and inspection.
