Also, many Canadians worry about the synthetic hormones injected into livestock. Although Health Canada has not allowed bovine growth hormone (BGH) to be used on Canadian cows, there are fears about the unlabelled dairy products that arrive here daily from the US. Repeated recalls of food and a number of lawsuit settlements over deaths from food poisoning (some up to $90 million US), have been costly.

The meat industry has been struggling with new and far more virulent foodborne pathogens such as E. coli 0157:H7 and campylobacter. Food firms may have to start cleaning up their act; but their first impulse is to irradiate.

When hearings began in 1997 on US Agriculture Department plans to secure broad power to impose fines on those distributing infected products, legislators were greeted by an orchestrated panel of expert witnesses provided by: the American Meat Institute, Grocery Manufacturers of America, National Food Processors Association and the National Broilers Council. Their message was clear: technology is the way to a safe food supply, not fines and sanctions. Technology? Read that as irradiation.

Irradiation–A Step Backwards

Irradiation gives a whole new meaning to "nuking" your food. The radiation comes from gamma-ray emitters such as cobalt-60. It works by stripping electrons from atoms to f create positively and negatively charged ions that harm or t kill rapidly-growing cells in molds, fungi, insects and microbes. There is no residual radioactivity and the exposure used is usually low. Food is rendered relatively sterile. Ionizing radiation has been around for more than four decades. Industry would like to expand its use of irradiation although the procedure "may not be foolproof." In fact, increased reliance on irradiation may discourage other changes in food handling. In 37 countries, health authorities have approved radiation of 40 different foods, including spices and grains, de-boned chicken, fruits and vegetables. Twenty-four of these countries, including the US and Canada, are actually applying the process for commercial purposes.

For many, questions remain about the precise chemical changes to the food. When you strip charged electrons (ions) from atoms, you can change their chemical essence. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration is studying the possibility of toxicity and nutrition loss as a result of irradiation. At greater exposures, vitamins can definitely be lost. Many consumers say they will boycott meat labelled with the familiar radiation symbol or marked "treated with irradiation."

Vegetables and fruits are by far your safest bet, but they should be washed (even if they're organic) to remove any contaminating bacteria that may have attached themselves to the skin.

The potentially fatal E. coli strain has been associated with lettuce, fruit and fruit juices as well as beef. In fact, in 1996, an E. coli outbreak hit the western states and BC; apple juice was found to be the source after 66 people became severely ill and one child died. Meat is far riskier and should be cooked to at least 68°C (155°F); there should be no pink left inside. Chicken is particularly dangerous; chickens peck at their own feces. Thoroughly clean the knife you use to cut raw poultry, as well as the cutting board and your hands, before you touch any other food. "Treat all foods as if they are potentially contaminated," says US food expert Joe Madden, "Because potentially, they are."

Canadians may want to start being as wary of their domestic food as they are of food they consume abroad.

Michael Downey is a Toronto-based writer and editor and a co-founder of the Coalition Against Water Fluoridation.

Source: alive #211, May 2000