Irradiation

I've been on the fence about food irradiation for years. When it first made headlines and people began worrying about it, I did a little research of my own - and didn't find anything that particularly concerned me.

No, there weren't any studies proving that it was good for you - but there also wasn't enough proof to convince me that it was terribly bad for your either. Plus, it was especially appealing to me because it eliminated trichinosis in pork.

Pork is one of the most nutritious of meats, but it had to be cooked well done to kill the trich. In doing so, a great deal of the nutrient value of the meat is spoiled and the overcooking causes homocysteine levels in the blood to increase. Irradiation made pork safe to eat again. Or at least it seemed to. But it has always been unclear as to what new toxins we're being exposed to as a result of eating irradiated food.

So I thought it was about time I took a second look at food irradiation. What I saw wasn't pretty. I received a startling email alert on this subject recently from an information wellspring called Health Sciences Institute (HSI). These alerts come five days a week and they're free. You won't find many bargains like that.

In this edition, the HSI e-alert reported: 'Irradiation is a process by which a food product is exposed to extremely high doses of radiation to kill bacteria, parasites and fungi that may cause spoilage or disease. And if that were all irradiation did, that would be fine. But... there's much more to it than that.'

Irradiation turns even the most nutritious foods into junk foods
In an earlier e-alert, US HSI panellist Dr Allan Spreen stated that an abundance of nutrients are eliminated by this process. Jon Barron, another distinguished panellist, agreed and added, 'As much as 70 percent of the vitamin A, B1 and B2 in irradiated milk is destroyed, and about 30 percent of vitamin C.'

And Barron elaborated with the following sobering information: 'Food is exposed to 'hard' irradiation, usually gamma rays from a source like cobalt-80, in doses of 100,000 to 3,000,000 rads. To give you a sense of how high a dose this is, understand that a dose of just 10,000 rads will totally destroy any living tissue.'

Any living tissue? Let's analyse that. When a pig or cow is killed, the animal is dead, but its tissues aren't, and this is when meat is at its most nutritious - if it's eaten fresh and not 'cooked to death' (an apt term). So if 10,000 rads totally destroys living tissue, then irradiated meat that you purchase from the supermarket is essentially nutrition-free.

This is not simple conjecture - the facts are in: Food irradiation is a clear and present danger to your health.

Rats are dying of IFS - are you next?
Even the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admits to some shocking results from animal research. In its final report approving food radiation, the FDA admitted that when up to 35 per cent of the lab-animal diet was irradiated, the studies had to be terminated because of 'premature mortality or morbidity.' And in another investigation at the Medical College of Virginia, in the US, rats fed irradiated beef 'died of haemorrhagic syndrome in 34 days.'

How would you like for your tombstone to read: 'Here lies Joe Citizen - Died from IFS at the age of 50.' IFS stands for 'Irradiated Food Syndrome.' I made it up, but if rats get it from eating radiotoxic foods, then chances are good that we can, too.

One last testimonial, from a friend and colleague of mine who said: 'Ionizing radiation causes free radicals and lipid peroxidation. Ionizing radiation sterilises by scrambling molecules. It changes molecular structure. Nutrients can become non-nutrients, or even anti-nutrients. It can transform nutrients into 'empty' calories, like refining. It's a conspiracy to extend shelf life and enhance profits for the 'Corporation'. I won't consume any of that stuff if I can help it.'

Action to take:
Unfortunately, aside from moving to a farm, growing all your own vegetables, and slaughtering all your own meat, there isn't a lot you can do to make sure you aren't eating (or drinking) any irradiated items.

Food irradiation has been permitted in the UK since 1991 for specific types of foods: fruit, vegetables, cereals, bulbs and tubers, spices and condiments, fish and shellfish and poultry. Any food manufacturers who wish to irradiate these foods are not allowed to operate without a licence from the Food Standards Agency and any food which is irradiated must be clearly labelled with either the words 'Irradiated' or 'Treated with ionising radiation'.

World-wide, 37 countries, including seven member states of the European Community and the United States, permit food irradiation. In some, such as South Africa, what is known as the redura symbol (looks like a daisy) is also used to indicate irriadiated foods, although this is not currently used in the UK. So make sure you're on the lookout for those foods that are labelled 'Irradiated' or 'Treated with ionising radiation' and just flat-out refuse to buy them.

Reference:
'Radiation Nation,' Health Sciences Institute e-alert, 10/2/03