Health Canada to launch irradiation awareness campaign 26 November 2002 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation OTTAWA - Health Canada is about to allow irradiation to be used on a longer list of food products. The department says it will authorize the irradiation of ground beef, poultry, shrimp and mangos. [Foods already approved for irradiation in Canada] Irradiation is supposed to keep food fresher for a longer time. It's also supposed to kill harmful bacteria. such as E. coli. During irradiation, a piece of meat would be zapped with 10 kilorads of radio-isotope-generated radiation beams - equal in power to 150 million chest X-rays. The process is not supposed to change the taste or appearance of the food. Health Canada has spent months studying the issue and has decided that a massive education campaign is needed. A 2000 survey found that 51 per cent of Canadians favoured irradiation while 42 per cent said it wasn't a good idea. More than half of the respondents said they wouldn't buy irradiated food because of safety concerns. Critics cite studies showing that it depletes vitamins, A, E and K and can deposit carcinogens in their place. Strips meat of many vitamins Samuel Epstein, a professor emeritus of environmental medicine at the University of Illinois' School of Public Health in Chicago, warns irradiation of food is dangerous. Epstein says irradiating meat can produce profound chemical changes to the meat, stripping the meat of many of its vitamins. Dietitian Karen Graham, who wrote a book on irradiation, says the food-processing industry will irradiate at the expense of safe food handling measures. Irradiation has been around since the 1950s. It's already used on some products such as onions, potatoes, flour and spices. More than 40 countries such as France, the United States, Israel and Russia have approved the irradiation of more than 60 food products. American producers recently got the green light to use the phrase "cold pasteurized" instead of "irradiated" on food labels, in response to consumer fears about radiation. In Canada, irradiated food must be identified with the internationally recognized symbol called a "radura." Health Canada is poised to approve irradiation of red meat and poultry. Some foods are already approved for irradiation in Canada: spices, flour and onions and potatoes to prevent sprouting. There doesn't appear to be a move to change the labelling guidelines in Canada. Products will have the words "treated by irradiation" stamped on them. Written by CBC News Online staff Prior to using irradiation on a food product, approval must be granted by a regulatory body. To seek approval, a petition process is used. The petition must provide a reason for using the irradiation process and demonstrate the safety of the irradiated product. In the United States, this body is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); in Canada, it is the Health Protection Branch of Health Canada. In the United States, certain food products are further controlled by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). To irradiate a product further regulated by the USDA, rules issued by the USDA must be followed when performing the irradiation. PRODUCTS APPROVED FOR IRRADIATION IN CANADA AS OF JANUARY 2001. Petition Purpose Dmax*(kGy) Date approved Potatoes Sprout inhibition 0.15 (15,000 rads) November 9, 1960 Onions Sprout inhibition 0.15 (15,000 rads) March 25, 1965 Wheat, wheat flour Disinfestation 0.75 (75,000 rads) February 25, 1969 Spices Decontamination 10 (1 million rads) October 3, 1984 Vegetables seasonings (dried) Decontamination 10 (1 million rads) October 3, 1984 Herbs Decontamination 10 (1 million rads) October 3, 1984 * Dmax = maximum dose from http://www.mds.nordion.com/master_dex.asp?page_id=110