Current FDA regulations also permit some irradiated foods properly labeled with the international symbol and “Treated with radiation”
Health Canada plans to suggest amendments to the country’s Food
and Drug Regulations in June, which would add ground beef to the list of foods
permitted to undergo radiation treatment before being sold in Canada.
The rationale behind changing the regulations is that irradiation of raw
ground beef will prevent the spread of E.
coli and other foodborne pathogens. However, Canadian health officials are
well aware that public reaction to the idea has been
negative so far.
The plan was revived in 2013 after the 2012 beef recall by XL Foods Inc. in
Brooks, Alberta. The largest beef recall in Canadian history, it involved 8
million pounds of beef, and the related E. coli O157:H7 outbreak sickened at least 18 Canadians.
Industry groups north of the border have long advocated irradiation of
beef and say that the time is right to initiate the practice. Some would also
like to see chicken and salad vegetables irradiated prior to sale.
“I think public perception has changed,” said Mark Klassen, director of
technical services with the Albert-based Canadian Cattlemen’s
Association. “When we ask Canadians if they think they should be able to
purchase irradiated beef, they’re accepting of it.”
However, critics of food irradiation say that it produces toxins such as
benzene, reduces a food’s nutritional value, and changes the taste of the meat.
Some claim that factory farms and feedlots want to irradiate meat so they
can continue putting large numbers of animals into small, confined spaces where
the animals, along with their water and food, are exposed to large amounts of
feces.
Health Canada spokeswoman Maryse Durette said the proposed regulations
will be announced next month in the Canada Gazette and that a
75-day public consultation period will follow. She also said that if irradiated
frozen or fresh ground beef were approved for sale in the Canadian
marketplace, it would need to be labeled as such.
If the government allows raw ground beef to be irradiated before retail
sale in Canada, it would join the following food items on that country’s
approved list: onions, potatoes, wheat, flour, whole wheat flour, whole or
ground spices, and dehydrated seasonings.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration allows irradiation of
food by X-rays or electron beam. Current FDA regulations permit the
following foods to be irradiated before sale in the U.S.: beef, pork,
crustaceans (lobster, shrimp and crab), fresh fruits and vegetables, lettuce
and spinach, molluscan shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels and scallops),
poultry, seeds for sprouting (such as alfalfa sprouts), shell eggs, and spices
and seasonings.
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