FDA Allows Irradiation of Spinach and Lettuce!!!

August 24th, 2008 · No Comments

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The Food and Drug Administration has issued a regulation allowing spinach and lettuce to be irradiated.
Yes, you read that right…
Beginning Friday June 21, spinach and lettuce sold in the United States may now be irradiated!

In case you are wondering, this is a very harmful practice that has implications reaching far and wide.

What exactly is going on?
The FDA issued the food-irradiation rule yesterday in the wake of recent salmonella and E. coli outbreaks, such as the 2006 E. coli outbreak that pulled fresh spinach off store shelves.

This seems like a good thing and food manufacturers are very happy about this ruling as is Big Pharma (pharmaceutical companies) whom will make a ton of money off of a sickened population.

Let’s Put this Into Perspective:
The FDA issued the ruling due to the 2006 E. coli outbreak in fresh spinach.

First, the spinach outbreak was more than 2 years ago.

Second, only 200 people became ill from the outbreak with no reported cases since then.

200 sick people may seem like alot until you understand that more than 55 million people become sick and more than 3,000 people die every year due to contaminated meat; beef, chicken, fish, and pork.
That is not a typo. 55 million people get food poisoning every year and more than 3,000 of these people die due to meat contamination.
Every year! Year after year after year…

I’ll let you in on a little secret: Meat is already being irradiated. However, more than 300 million pounds of beef have been recalled this year due to contamination.

In other words, food irradiation doesn’t work.

Here’s another little known fact: The FDA allowed the radiation of commercial meat and produce many years ago.
The new ruling for spinach and lettuce allows higher levels of radiation that are believed to kill viruses.

Why is Food Irradiation harmful?
The following is an excerpt from my book, Better Living With Whole Foods

IRRADIATION
Irradiation of commercial produce and meats has been approved by the FDA. The reasoning behind this harmful practice is to kill harmful bacteria and other unwelcome pests. In reality, food irradiation gives food manufacturers the ability to extend the shelf life of produce so that it can be stored for weeks on trucks, ships, or trains until it reaches your supermarket.

WHAT DOES FOOD IRRADIATION DO?
Irradiation of produce has been shown to deplete their vital nutrient stores, especially vitamin A, B-complex, C, and beta-carotene. Beneficial bacteria are also destroyed which indicate when food is spoiled. For instance, although they appear fresh, commercially grown apples on supermarket shelves will often have a mushy feel and taste bland. These apples look fresh, but they are actually spoiled and depleted of their vital nutrients.

A quote from Public Citizen regarding irradiation of produce:
“We, along with thousands of other consumers, opposed these regulations from the time they were originally proposed during the Clinton administration because of their effects on food, farmers and health,” said a Public Citizen spokesman. “Until the irradiation of food is shown to be safe, this technology should not be used to ‘treat’ imported fruits and vegetables or any other food, for that matter. APHIS acknowledged receiving thousands of comments from citizens who raised safety concerns, but the agency apparently chose to ignore them.”
– Source: Public Citizen (www.publiccitizen.org)

Food irradiation is a real concern which not only affects our produce, but also our meat products, including beef, chicken, fish, and pork.

Effects of Irradiation on Food
The long-term health consequences of eating irradiated food are still unknown. Irradiation creates a complex series of reactions that literally rip apart the molecular structure of the food. This process creates known carcinogens like benzene and other toxic chemicals including toluene.v Also, irradiation byproducts called 2-ACBs, which do not occur naturally in any food, have been linked to cancer development in rats vii and genetic damage in human cells.viii Other serious health problems have been observed in animals fed irradiated foods, including premature death, mutations, stillbirths, organ damage and nutritional deficiencies.

Why Should You Be Worried About This?
Irrdiation of food kills beneficial nutrients including the thousands of cancer fifghting phytonutrients. This fact alone is cause for great concern. However, there are implications that are of much greater concern…

This is just the beginning stages of mandatory irradiation of all foods.

Today, it’s spinach and lettuce. Tomorrow, it’s tomatoes and peppers. And on and on, until there is mandatory irradiation of all food sold to the public.

Question to Ponder:
Did you get to vote on this subject?

Did the FDA give you any choice in the matter?

Did the FDA give us any warning?

The answer to all of these questions is NO!!!

This ruling is very upsetting to me. And, it should upset you too. Especially if you have children.

What happened to our freedom of choice?
If you haven’t noticed, when it comes to our food, our freedom of choice is dimnishing at a rapid rate.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Buy organic fresh produce. As of the writing of this post it was illegal to irradiate produce and label it as organic.

Buy your produce directly from local farmers at Farmer’s Markets and CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture)

Grow your own produce.

Lastly, raise your voice. Let your government representatives know that you are vehemently opposed to irradiation of your food supply.

What do you think about irradiation of our food supply?
I would like to hear what you have to say about this matter.