From: [s--r--d] at [genesis.MCS.COM] (Lance Sanders) Newsgroups: sci.med.nutrition Subject: Re: Dangers of food irradiation Date: 28 Nov 1993 16:53:17 -0600 On Sun, 28 Nov 1993 03:29:24 GMT, Bill Evers <[W--VE--S] at [PURCCVM.BITNET]>, in Message-ID: <[93331 222924 WEVERS] at [PURCCVM.BITNET]> writes: >Thank you Lawarence Foard! There is courage and sanity in this news >group! A healthy lifestyle related to food and nutrition will only be >achieved by good science not unprovable, religious fanaticism I agree. However, there are indications that the FDA's criteria for selecting research used in forging policy are strangely inconsistent. Dr. Donald B. Louria, chairman of the dept. of preventive medicine and community health at the U. of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark noted in a 08/92 interview that: "The F.D.A. based its approval of irradiation on five or six animal studies, although it had 400 to choose; it said the rest were all flawed. Taken together, the studies they chose could not possibly establish the safety of irradiation. Indeed, two of the studies suggest the technology is not safe." The Sept. 1990 issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: "...the proponents of irradiation have not produced any projections of the actual economic, or other, benefits of longer shelf life, especially in a developed country that has an abundant food supply." The May 1992 issue of the Berkeley Wellness letter (published by the U. of California at Berkeley) declared that: "Though it's also been claimed that irradiation will make insecticides and fungicides obsolete, there's some evidence that certain foods may be more vulnerable to the ravages of fungi and insects AFTER irradiation." The April 1992 issue of Nutrition Action (published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest) reported that in one study, the vitamin C content of potatoes was reduced by 50 percent after the potatoes received a standard dose of radiation. In another study, one-third the level of radiation permitted by the FDA reduced thiamin levels in pork by 17%, and a normal dose reduced thiamin levels in chicken breasts by 9%. Vitamin E content was also affected, and cooking reduces vitamin levels even further. Margaret A. Peckham, program associate, Public Interest Research Group, New York: "The industry and the Food and Drug Administration have not presented a strong enough case for the safety of eating irradiated foods. Moreover, there is no guarantee that irradiation will alleviate food spoilage. Food that has been irradiated can possibly be recontaminated." "The safety of eating irradiated foods is not the only concern. Irradiation plants have a bad record for both safety and honesty. Executives have been convicted on Federal charges of fraud and safety violations, and there have been incidents involving radiation leaks and spills. An incident in Georgia three years ago is costing taxpayers there tens of millions of dollars to clean up...a moratorium of the sale of irradiated food products is judicious." J.J. Steinberg, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology; Radiation Biology and Oncology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine: "Food irradiation affects the cells that make up the food. Cells are composed of proteins, fats and nucleic acids --- the building blocks of DNA and genes. All radiation scientists would acknowledge that irradiating food's proteins, fats and nucleic acids alter their chemistry." "Most of these products are benign, some are worrisome. The new molecules formed after food irradiation are called 'biologically unknown radiolytic products'. Some of these new molecules formed from nucleic acids have similar activity to the therapies physicians use in tumor treatment, for example, chemotherapy. many of these new molecules act as mutagens --- chemicals that can injure or change the DNA of the person exposed to them. Excess exposure to mutagens may cause cancer." "The risk of cancer from food irradiation is likely miniscule, but we should accept that this food treatment may cause additional real, but as yet unquantifiable risk. These food risks may be similar to the risks we take when we eat pickled or charcoal-broiled foods, which offer a large menu of mutagens to the gourmet. Clearly, these risks are far smaller than smoking cigarettes, but they should not be minimized." [And no treatment-specific labels on genetically-altered foodstuffs??! In light of the FDA's almost fanatical drive to label or control other foodstuffs and supplements (including restaurant menus), that move should have triggered 'warning klaxons' in consumers. [Mr. Rogers accent: ON] "Can you say, 'sleight-of-hand'? I knew you could." [MRacc: OFF] Pardon the crudity, but it appears the public runs the risk of getting f**ked-over, here, in the long run...] --------- Lance Sanders "If they want to sell us Frankenfood, perhaps [s--r--d] at [genesis.MCS.COM] it's time to gather the villagers, light some GE Mail: L.Sanders6 torches and head to the castle."