The Food and Drug Administration has approved use of irradiation on spinach and lettuce to kill dangerous bacteria, but companies may have a tough time selling the idea to consumers.
The FDA's decision, effective today, adds iceberg lettuce and spinach to the short but growing list of foods approved for irradiation, including meat, poultry and some shellfish.
While a handful of companies have succeeded in selling irradiated ground beef since it hit the market in 2000, the idea has largely flopped. "Mom wouldn't buy it," says Craig Wilson, food-safety chief for Costco.
Like pasteurization of milk and pressure cooking of canned foods, treating food with ionizing radiation can kill bacteria such as E. coli. NASA gives irradiated food to astronauts, and the technology, which kills bacteria by altering its DNA, was first used in the U.S. in 1964 to extend the shelf life of white potatoes.
Based on available data, the FDA said Thursday that irradiation done correctly and at approved levels would reduce or eliminate bacteria without altering the nutritional value of the greens or harming consumers.
Opponents say more testing is needed and that the FDA could better enhance food safety by policing foodmakers more. The consumer group Food & Water Watch called irradiation an "impractical, ineffective and very expensive gimmick" that may ruin flavor, texture and nutritional value.
The FDA's ruling resulted from a petition filed in 2000 by a food-manufacturing association asking the FDA to approve irradiation for a broad array of foods. In 2007, the petition was amended so that the leafy greens could be ruled on first.
http://waronyou.com/forums/index.php?topic=765.msg2069;topicseen#new
The FDA's decision, effective today, adds iceberg lettuce and spinach to the short but growing list of foods approved for irradiation, including meat, poultry and some shellfish.
While a handful of companies have succeeded in selling irradiated ground beef since it hit the market in 2000, the idea has largely flopped. "Mom wouldn't buy it," says Craig Wilson, food-safety chief for Costco.
Like pasteurization of milk and pressure cooking of canned foods, treating food with ionizing radiation can kill bacteria such as E. coli. NASA gives irradiated food to astronauts, and the technology, which kills bacteria by altering its DNA, was first used in the U.S. in 1964 to extend the shelf life of white potatoes.
Based on available data, the FDA said Thursday that irradiation done correctly and at approved levels would reduce or eliminate bacteria without altering the nutritional value of the greens or harming consumers.
Opponents say more testing is needed and that the FDA could better enhance food safety by policing foodmakers more. The consumer group Food & Water Watch called irradiation an "impractical, ineffective and very expensive gimmick" that may ruin flavor, texture and nutritional value.
The FDA's ruling resulted from a petition filed in 2000 by a food-manufacturing association asking the FDA to approve irradiation for a broad array of foods. In 2007, the petition was amended so that the leafy greens could be ruled on first.
http://waronyou.com/forums/index.php?topic=765.msg2069;topicseen#new
Just making a joke. 
The stuff that even the dogs won't eat, is what concerns me. 
