October 6, 2000

Ideological attacks on food irradiation hinder efforts to save lives and enhance the safety of the food supply, says the Grocery Manufacturers of America. In response to what it calls "the latest series of orchestrated attacks on irradiation led by the group Public Citizen," GMA said the scientific evidence supporting the benefits of food irradiation is overwhelming.

Public Citizen and the Cancer Prevention Coalition claim the Food and Drug Administration "has legalized the irradiation of fruit, vegetables, meat and eggs while ignoring federal safety regulations and relying on dozens of tests that the agency's own expert scientists have dismissed as invalid."

"For 17 years, the FDA has knowingly and systematically ignored its own testing protocols -- protocols that must be followed before irradiated food can be legalized for human consumption," said Mark Worth, senior researcher for Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. "The FDA's record of regulating food irradiation is an utter embarrassment. The agency's failings should outrage everyone concerned about the wholesomeness of our food supply."

Lisa Katic, registered dietitian and GMS director of scientific and nutrition policy, however, said, "The bottom line is that food irradiation can help save lives. The General Accounting Office – Congress' independent investigation agency – reviewed more than 50 years worth of scientific evidence on food irradiation. Their verdict: food irradiation is a safe, effective tool for reducing food-borne pathogens."

Scientific bodies from around the world have attested to the safety and the benefits of food irradiation, according to Lester Crawford, director of the Georgetown Center for Food and Nutrition Policy.

"You can't erase decades of scientific substantiation," said Crawford, former administrator at the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and former director of FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. "From the American Medical Association to the World Health Organization, the mainstream scientific and medical community around the globe has attested to the safety of irradiation."

On the other side of the coin, Samuel Epstein, chair of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, said, "The scientific sleight-of-hand perpetuated by the FDA -- year after year, decision after decision -- sets a new standard for governmental misfeasance. The FDA should be held accountable for abdicating its regulatory mandate to comply with standard testing procedures, while ignoring substantive evidence of public health hazards.

"The day will soon come," Epstein said, "when international opposition to American exports of irradiated food will surpass that of genetically engineered food. If Congress fails to ban irradiated food, American farmers, ranchers and the economy could pay a devastating price.