010413 WW Johnson Meat Company to Use Irradiation

San Diego, CA - SureBeam Corporation announced that Minneapolis-based WW Johnson Meat Company has joined the lengthening list of leading food processors committed to providing safer meat products through the use of SureBeam technology.

``For 55 years, the WW Johnson name has been synonymous with quality meats for the food service industry,'' said Thomas M. Racciatti, WW Johnson Meat Company's president. ``We are committed to using the latest technological innovations to ensure that our customers continue to receive from WW Johnson the best tasting, highest quality ground beef products on the market. SureBeam enhances the safety of our fresh ground beef and the well being of our customers, just like milk pasteurization ensures the quality of milk and the safety of our children.''

Similar to a microwave oven, the SureBeam electronic pasteurization system uses electricity as its energy source to pasteurize food after it has been processed and packaged. SureBeam's technology generates a beam of accelerated electrons (called an electron beam) from electricity. The beam is scanned across a food product, instantly eliminating the threat from harmful food-borne bacteria such as E. Coli O157:H7, Listeria, Campylobacter and Salmonella without compromising food quality.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, food-borne diseases strike 76 million Americans annually, leading to more than 5,000 deaths -- predominately among children, the elderly, and the unborn. The SureBeam technology is designed to help decrease the incidence of food-borne illnesses.

SureBeam's technology has won the support of many of the nation's most prestigious food processors -- including IBP, Cargill, Emmpak Foods, Huisken Meats, Tyson Foods, Del Monte Foods, American Foodservice, United Food Group, and Omaha Steaks. Introduced to the American consumer in May 2000, SureBeam electronically pasteurized hamburgers are sold across the nation in either supermarkets or by home delivery.

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