WASHINGTON - Irradiation. It may sound sinister but food safety experts say it could become a key tool to keep sickness-causing bacteria out of the U.S. meat supply.
Since the biggest hamburger recall in U.S. history due to contamination with a virulent strain of E.coli, the government, industry and consumer groups have been casting about for ways to improve food safety and reassure the public.
The Clinton administration is asking Congress for power to order a recall of tainted meat and to fine foodmakers. Meat processors have taken a second look at the practice of "reworking" leftover meat into the next day's production, which was at the heart of the Hudson Foods Inc (HFI) recall.
Food irradiation has been seized on because the treatment destroys unseen bacterial foes such as E.coli and salmonella. Low-level radiation doses zap rapidly growing bugs or spoilage and bacteria, much as it kills cancer cells in humans.
"Irradiation offers the best chance of substantially reducing bacterial and parasitic contamination in food," Michael Osterholm, state epidemiologist for Minnesota, wrote in the latest issue of Newsweek. "It is the critical missing piece in reducing the risk of illness."
Although controversial, irradiation is similar to the pasteurization of milk, said Donald Thayer, a researcher at the Agriculture Department. Irradiation greatly decreases the chance that foodborne pathogens will reach consumers, he said.
Spices, herbs and dry vegetable seasonings are commonly irradiated to get rid of insects and bacteria. Many U.S. hospitals and nursing homes also buy irradiated food.
The Food and Drug Administration also has approved the technology for fruits, vegetables, pork and poultry, as well as for food for astronauts. Apollo 17 astronauts ate radiation-sterilized ham on the moon.
James Corrigan, owner of the Carrot Top market in Northbrook, Ill., said he tries to stock irradiated produce whenever he can because the food has a longer shelf life. At the moment, there is just one U.S. food irradiation company.
Three years ago, Isomedix Inc (ISO), a New Jersey firm that sterilizes medical equipment and cosmetics, asked the FDA to approve irradiation of red meat. Chief executive John Masefield said he hoped to hear from federal regulators soon.
"It is my understanding that it has reasonably high priority and we may get the appropriate clearance this year," Masefield said in an interview.
FDA officials were not available for comment.
But the technology faces a lukewarm reception from the meat industry and consumer groups.
Meat industry groups said they support irradiation as just one of the many tools to limit foodborne illnesses.
"We're not big fans of irradiation," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety expert at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. It raises environmental and worker safety issues, and strips nutrients and affects food taste, she said.
"Some people still believe the stuff glows in the dark," said Gary Smith, head of the Center For Red Meat Safety at Colorado State University. Beyond skeptical consumers, it would be a logistical feat to irradiate the some 13 billion pounds of hamburger Americans eat each year, he said.
Foodborne illnesses sicken 33 million people each year and kill 9,000 in the United States. Scientists agree the worst may be E.coli:0157, first identified in 1982. It causes diarrhea, severe cramps, dehydration, and in some cases, kidney failure.
Four children died of the bacteria in 1993 after eating tainted hamburgers at the Jack in the Box restaurant chain.
This summer, 17 people became ill from eating E.coli-infected hamburgers produced at a Nebraska plant, which led to a mammoth recall of 25 million pounds of hamburger.
"We've lost our sense of safety that people had 50 years ago," said Smith. "I'm very concerned that irradiation be seen as the magic bullet because the only magic bullet is to cook it and cook it until nothing survives."
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