Are you ready for a change in radura?
Maybe the first question is, “What is radura”?
Currently, single-ingredient irradiated foods sold in stores are labeled “treated with irradiation” and carry the radura symbol (see illustration).
FoodQualityNews.com reports that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to revise its labeling regulations for irradiated foods and supplements.
Under the revisions, only irradiated foods where irradiation causes a “material change” in the food would carry the radura logo and the term “irradiated” with a description of the change in the food.
“Material change” refers to a change in the organoleptic (feel, look, smell, taste), nutritional, or functional properties of a food, caused by irradiation that the consumer can’t identify at the point of purchase in the absence of appropriate labeling.
The FDA is also proposing to allow a company to petition to use an alternate term to “irradiation.”
The proposed rule is here. Comments must be received by July 3, 2007.
PS: Lorraine Heller, the author of the article also notes, “The US National Center for Policy Analysis estimates that if half the food at greatest risk consumed in the US were to be irradiated, food-borne illnesses would decline by 900,000 cases annually and deaths by 352. The center estimates irradiation would cost about five cents per pound for meat and poultry products.”
4/5/07 19:46 JR
