010114 IBA Receives USDA Approval for Irradiation

Memphis, TN - The United States Department of Agriculture has granted approval to use gamma irradiation to treat meat and poultry products at one of the Midwest's largest food treatment facilities in Schaumburg, Ill. The go-ahead will give commercial food processors in the region access to one of the world's best technologies for ensuring food safety.

Termed a Grant of Inspection, the approval means that the Schaumburg facility, owned and managed by irradiation leader IBA, meets USDA requirements for gamma irradiation treatment of ground beef, pork and poultry. The facility has treated bacterial contamination in food products, particularly spices, for the last fifteen years, but will now be able to extend its irradiation services to fresh meat and poultry, two products for which the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recently granted its approval.

The Schaumburg facility now becomes the first IBA facility in North America to be approved commercially for irradiation of fresh meat and poultry using gamma rays. “As a result of this approval, we can now offer irradiation services to those Midwestern food processors that are responding to consumer demands for the safest food products,” said Chip Colonna, Vice President of Perishable Foods, IBA Food Safety Division. “We have a growing number of companies that are eager to introduce or expand their offerings of irradiation-protected products and we anticipate start-up in January with the facility's first customers.”

Jean-Claude Delobel, Chief Executive Officer, IBA added, “Obtaining this approval is the first step in building a network of IBA irradiation processing centers which can provide convenient access for all food producers throughout the United States. IBA is the only company in the world offering X-ray, electron beam and gamma processing, a choice of the best technological means to ensure effective food safety.”

IBA Food Safety already offers X-ray and electron beam irradiation of food products. This will allow customers to choose the technology best suited to their needs and geographical location.

In June 2000, the IBA Food Safety Division announced the opening of a new X- ray Test Center in Edgewood, N.Y., allowing more than a dozen different food producers to test X-ray irradiation of ready-to-eat meats, raw poultry, ground beef, and fresh and frozen vegetables.

Also underway, is construction of the United States' first commercially available IBA X-ray processing facility located in Bridgeport, N.J. This X-ray facility will be the first of its kind to offer large-capacity X-ray processing in the USA and is scheduled to open in the second quarter 2001.

Irradiation is approved by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

During the irradiation process, food is exposed to a precisely controlled amount of radiant energy (electron beam, X-ray or gamma), which effectively destroys harmful microscopic bacterial pathogens without affecting the food's nutritional content, its taste or its texture.

Irradiation is approved by the FDA for the treatment of poultry, red meat, vegetables and more recently eggs. It has been shown to be an extremely powerful weapon against potentially harmful bacteria such as Listeria and Salmonella. The IBA Food Safety Division also participated in the submission of the recent FDA petition for improved seafood safety in the USA.

With more than 1100 employees at 47 different sites in 12 countries on 3 Continents, IBA is a recognized world leader in the areas of Sterilization and Ionization, Advanced Radiotherapy and Radioisotopes. The IBA Food Safety Division, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., is focused on pathogenic microbial reduction in food products (spices, herbs, fresh food items) and food packaging. IBA has been producing irradiation systems for over 40 years and in particular, treating foods, including poultry, seafood, cheese and spices for over 15 years.

IBA is also world leader in the production of high-precision cancer treatment systems using proton beams, the manufacture of radioisotope-producing cyclotrons and the development of centers for the distribution of FDG, a radiopharmaceutical used in cancer diagnosis.

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