Food Irradiation

The Secretariat received several inquiries regarding this controversial issue, so the following excerpts from different sources might be of interest. As can be expected in a question of such complexity, policies and opinions differ widely and the following represents a compilation of texts right across the board.

EU Paper Food Safety - from the Farm to the Fork – Food Irradiation

1. Introduction

Irradiation is a physical treatment of food with high-energy, ionising radiation. It can be used to prolong the shelf life of food products and/or to reduce health hazards associated with certain products due to the presence of pathogenic micro-organisms.

The treatment may be applied for different purposes, such as:

1. Prevention of germination and sprouting of potatoes, onions and garlic.
2. Disinfestation by killing or sterilising insects which infest grains, dried fruit, vegetables or nuts.
3. Retardation of ripening and ageing of fruit and vegetables.
4. Prolongation of the shelf life and prevention of food-borne diseases by reducing the number of viable micro-organisms in meat, poultry and seafood.
5. Reduction of micro-organisms in spices and herbs.

In practice, the use of this technique is rather limited although it is authorised in many countries.

2. Community legislation

At Community level irradiated foods and food ingredients are regulated by:

• framework Directive 1999/2/EC of the European Parliament and Council on the approximation of the laws of Member States concerning foods and food ingredients treated with ionising radiation. The Directive covers general and technical aspects for carrying out the process, labelling of irradiated foods and conditions for authorising food irradiation.
• implementing Directive 1999/3/ EC of the European Parliament and Council on the establishment of a Community list of food and food ingredients treated with ionising radiation. So far, this list of products authorised for irradiation within the whole EU contains only a single food category: “dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings”. The marketing of any product not complying with the Directives has been prohibited since 20 March 2001.

The framework Directive sets out that:

1. The treatment with ionising radiation of a specific food item may only be authorised if :
   • there is a reasonable technological need
   • it presents no health hazard
   • it is of benefit to the consumers
   • it is not used as a substitute for hygiene and health practices or for good manufacturing or agricultural practice.
2. Any food irradiated as such or containing irradiated food ingredients has to be labelled.
3. A favourable opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) is needed to place a specific food item on the EU-wide list of products authorised for irradiation. In 1986, 1992 and 1998 the SCF expressed favourable opinions on irradiation of fruit, vegetables, cereals, starchy tubers, spices and condiments, fish, shellfish, fresh meats, poultry, camembert from raw milk, frog legs, gum arabic, casein/caseinates, egg white, cereal flakes, rice flour, and blood products. The SCF emphasised that food irradiation must not be used to cover negligence in handling foodstuffs or to mask their unsuitability for use as food.
4. National authorisations allowing the irradiation of certain foods within Member States can be maintained until the completed EU-wide list of products authorised for irradiation enters into force.
5. Member States may also maintain restrictions or bans on irradiated foods, in compliance with the rules of the Treaty, until the completed EU-wide list of products authorised for irradiation enters into force.
6. Member States shall ensure that the analytical methods used to detect irradiated foods are validated or standardised. The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) has standardised a number of analytical methods developed with the financial support of the European Commission.
7. Foodstuffs may only be irradiated in approved irradiation facilities in the Member State or in irradiation facilities in third countries which have been approved by the Community.
8. Member States have to inform the Commission of their competent authorities.

3. Consultation

DG Health and Consumer Protection published a Consultation Paper on Food Irradiation on 2 October 2000 and invited all interested parties to send comments. The comments received are summarised in the following document:

Comments on the DG Health & Consumer Protection Consultation of Consumer Organisations, Industry concerned and other interested parties on the strategy for completion of the positive list of food and food ingredients to be authorised for irradiation treatment.

4. Communication of the Commission

As a result of the comments received on the consultation paper, the Commission adopted on 8 August 2001 a Communication on foods and food ingredients authorised for treatment with ionising radiation in the Community.

Excerpt: C 241/6 – Official Journal of the European Communities – 29 August 2001:

Communication from the Commission on Foods and Food Ingredients authorized for Treatment with ionising radiation in the Community

2. Opinions of industry associations and other parties

The views of industry associations and other parties which sent comments are more diverse.

Comments in favour of food irradiation.

The irradiation industry is clearly in favour of authorising all products for which the SCF has expressed a favourable opinion. The FAO/WHO International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation which has the mandate to evaluate and advise on the global activities of food irradiation, the United States Government and some research associations/institutes expressed similar opinions. The main arguments are that according to the scientific community, food irradiation is safe and contributes to increasing consumer protection by destroying harmful organisms in food (red meat, poultry, etc.). The technique, if applied using good manufacturing practice, will not substitute for good hygiene practices. There is no justified reason to prohibit/restrict the application of food irradiation in the EU.

The global trade liberalisation through the WTO requires that national authorities base their regulations on Codex Standards, sound science and proper risk analysis. Although it is acknowledged that improvement of hygiene should have first priority, the failure of hygiene measures to avoid the presence of harmful micro-organisms, especially in red meat and chicken, is stressed. Many countries have authorised irradiation of a number of food products, including red meat and poultry. Also, food irradiation is the best substitute for fumigation of fruit and vegetable in order to get rid of pests. Food irradiation has in general the potential to substitute for harmful chemicals.

The current low treatment volumes do not indicate that there is no technological need since social, environmental and economic factors have an overwhelming power over technological need, scientific endorsement and consumer benefit.

Comments against food irradiation

The food producing industry, in particular the producers and traders of meat products, dried fruit/vegetables, potatoes, milk products, cereal flakes and tea are not in favour of the inclusion of their products into the list. Current procedures to ensure good hygiene are considered to be sufficient (no technological need). …The authorisation would affect negatively the image of these products. The irradiation of fresh fruit and vegetables to inhibit sprouting and delay ripening might mislead consumers with regard to age and freshness of the products. The Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA) is of the opinion that it is unlikely that food manufacturers will make use of food irradiation until consumer confidence in the technology is secured. CIAA believes that the negative image of food irradiation will be further reinforced if all the products for which the SCF expressed a favourable opinion were to be authorised for irradiation. Food irradiation could be used to substitute good hygiene practices and could lead to unfair trade practices. Any extension of the list should be accompanied by an information campaign to reassure consumers about the safety of the technology. The issue of extending the list should be postponed.

The Association of European Consumers (AEC)

On their website, updated 23 April 2002, AEC reports about a meeting on food irradiation with the following introduction: “ The Food Commission and Public Citizen organized an international meeting on Food Irradiation in Brussels on October 17th, 2001. The meeting was urgently needed as the UN organisation Codex Alimentarious is moving ahead with a proposal to remove all limits on how much irradiation food can be exposed to, and an increasing number of large irradiation facilities are being constructed around the world.

Food irradiation is on the rise all over the world. Concerns regarding the health, safety, nutrition and economic impacts of irradiated food have not yet been resolved.

• Using irradiation to extend the shelf life of food and the distance that food can be shipped undermines nutritional value, local food supplies, and environmental and economic sustainability.
• Using irradiation to mask the pollutants and bacteria found in food as a result of dirty slaughterhouse practices and unhygienic food processing methods is an unacceptable approach.
• Food irradiation technology supports the factory farm practices and mono-culture crop, system favoured by large-scale and trans-national producers and distributors, at the expense of consumers and small-scale producers.
• The weakening of current global food irradiation standards must be firmly opposed, including moves to allow all food to be irradiated and dose limits to be removed.
• Consumer interests and the protection of global food security necessitate a ban on this technology as applied to food commodities until such time as outstanding health and economic issues have been adequately investigated and resolved.

Governments are negotiating the liberalisation of food irradiation standards and the harmonisation of food irradiation laws at global and regional levels. Trans-national corporations and food conglomerates are extending their reach to all corners of the world, seeking to increase the profits at the expense of regional food sovereignty and at the expense of the health, safety and prosperity of consumers and local food producers.

The meeting was an opportunity for the exchange of information between those most concerned and best informed on food irradiation and its many implications. A forum for discussion of experiences and developments in various key countries. Invited to the meeting were representatives of other consumer, health and environmental organisations, farmer groups, trade unions, globalisation groups, academic institutions and governmental bodies.

More can be found under:
http://www.consumer-aec.org/english/activities/irradiation/irradiation_index.htm

Association of European Consumers in Bruxelles:
Ms. Anna Selberg – Coordinator
70-72 rue du Commerce
1040 Bruxelles
Tel: +32 2 545 90 74 / Fax: 545 90 76
E-mail: aec@belgacom.net

Public Citizen “fundamentally opposes the use of ionizing radiation as a “treatment” for food. Irradiation destroys vitamins and other nutrients, forms chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer and birth defects, and masks unhygienic food production practices. Instead of this short sighted quick-fix, we are encouraging the food industry and government regulators to institute comprehensive solutions in response to food safety challenges.”

Public Citizen, 1600 20th St. NW , Washington DC. 20009

(Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded by Ralph Nader in 1971)

List of Member States’ Authorisations of food and food ingredients which may be treated with ionising radiation – Belgium (BE), France (FR), Italy (IT), The Netherlands (NL) and United Kingdom (UK):