No Silver Bullet, but Irradiation Is Effective

October 4, 2000

A recent report from the General Accounting Office shows that 50 years of research has demonstrated the benefits of food irradiation with minimal potential risks. Yet, the major purchasers of irradiated foods are health care and food service establishments.

For example, the report says, nursing homes and hospitals serve irradiated poultry to patients with weakened immune systems to reduce the risk of contracting a food-borne illness that would jeopardize their condition.

"Concerns on the part of food processors, retailers and others about consumer acceptance of irradiated foods have limited their availability to date," says the report. Yet, an expert committee convened by the World Health Organization reviewed findings by more than 500 studies and concluded that food irradiation "creates no toxicological, microbiological or nutritional problems," says GAO.

Benefits of food irradiation include reducing food-borne pathogens; extending the shelf life of some fruits and vegetables by preventing sprouting, deactivating mold and killing bacteria, and controlling insect pests, thus reducing the need for environmentally harmful fumigants.

"These studies have not borne out concerns about the safety of consuming irradiated foods," the report adds. Studies indicate that chemical compounds in irradiated food generally are the same as in cooked foods, and any differences do not put consumers at risk.

The main components of food – carbohydrates, protein and fats – undergo "minimal change during irradiation, and vitamin loss corresponds to that in foods that are cooked, canned or held in cold storage," the report says.

In North America, transporting the types of radioactive isotopes used for irradiation over 40 years has not resulted in an accident that allowed the materials to escape into the environment, GAO said.