The better part of this summer seemed to be dotted with stories of continued salmonella and E. coli outbreaks. First, the FDA thought the problem was with tomatoes; but, it turns out peppers were the culprits that caused more than 1,400 people in 43 states to become sick with salmonella Saintpaul. This marks yet another incident where the FDA has failed to ensure the safety of the American public and our food supply.
Now, the FDA has decided to allow use of a controversial method to combat microbial contamination of foods: irradiation. Starting Friday, the FDA will allow producers to use irradiation on spinach and lettuce in an attempt to kill disease-causing bacteria. For those who may not be up on the scientific lingo: irradiation is the use of high-energy Gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays (which are all millions of times more powerful than standard medical X-rays) to break apart the bacteria in food.
Radiation is one of the more destructive forces in nature, and scientific studies have documented that irradiation can dramatically lower the nutritional content of foods like spinach and lettuce (irradiated foods can lose from 2-95 percent of their vitamins), particularly vitamin A and folate -- an essential B vitamin. The FDA's proposal concedes that irradiation will make spinach less nutritious. Sadly, the agency seems content to just accept the loss of such essential nutrients simply to avoid tackling the problem at its source.
While I certainly want the FDA to keep our food as safe as possible, it strikes me that the FDA is missing the fundamental key to "food safety" -- the prevention of contamination from happening in the first place. Irradiation has been touted as the solution to food-borne illness in everything from spinach to deli meats. But a good, hard look at the systemic food and agricultural problems that cause these tragic outbreaks in the first place has yet to be undertaken by government agencies. Continually FDA seems to rely on after-the-fact "solutions" that fail to prevent contamination, and instead try to contain food-borne illnesses caused by such contamination after they have already occurred. In order to figure out how to prevent such tragic outbreaks in the future, it's important to understand where pathogens such as E. coli originate.
According to the EPA, "E. coli is a type of fecal coliform bacteria commonly found in the intestines of animals and humans." They elaborate further: "E. coli comes from human and animal wastes." While most strains of E. coli are harmless to people, a few, like the dreaded O157:H7, are potentially fatal. Experience shows that many outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 are traceable to contamination of our foods with animal wastes, particularly from factory farms where confined conditions foster unsanitary living conditions and the spread of pathogens.
In 2006, California spinach contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 sickened over 200 people, and killed three. A field investigation by FDA and the State of California identified the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle feces from a ranch close to where the spinach was grown. Besides being the source of three-quarters of the nation's spinach, California is home to nearly 5 million cows which produce 15 million tons of manure every year -- manure that often ends up in nearby waterways, including the ditches and channels of irrigation water for crops like spinach.
I know that the FDA has a big job to do, and that the agency is tragically underfunded. Yet, continually it seems like its only "solution" to our food safety problems come in the forms of little band-aids on very big wounds. If we want to truly reduce E.coli contamination we need to get back to the source. Irradiation may kill some bacteria in our foods, but it is no substitute for measures to clean up the huge animal operations that pollute our waterways and irrigation water with the raw manure that often carries pathogenic bacteria like E. coli.
Irradiation of spinach and lettuce is not the solution to food-borne illness, because spinach and lettuce are not the problem. The problem is, quite literally, the crap that is allowed to contaminate it.
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Comments
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David Bradish Posted 4:58 am
22 Aug 2008
The FDA determined that irradiation can kill E. coli, salmonella and listeria, as well as lengthen the greens' shelf life, without compromising the safety, texture or nutrient value of raw spinach lettuce.
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moehrlei Posted 6:17 am
22 Aug 2008
The attitude that only a 100% perfect solution is acceptable even though it will never exist. Even if everyone grew their own food, food born illness would still exist. You just wouldn't have big headlines pointing to a single source. Just look at how we tolerate annual vehicle deaths and flu deaths, but go postal over smaller death tolls like this.
The use of statements like "irradiated foods can lose from 2-95 percent of their vitamins". 2-95%... Really... Could you be more vague?
Personally, if there was a sticker on the product stating it was irradiated, then let the consumer decide. And yes, given the choice, I'd choose the irradiated. I wish they made a home model!
No individual raindrop ever considers itself responsible for the flood.
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Bud Dingler Posted 8:21 pm
22 Aug 2008
grist is full of doomsday technology rants like
"or those who may not be up on the scientific lingo: irradiation is the use of high-energy Gamma rays, electron beams, or X-rays (which are all millions of times more powerful than standard medical X-rays) to break apart the bacteria in food."
does the poster have any scientific credentials to evaluate irradiation's safety?
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archigeek Posted 1:15 am
23 Aug 2008
The mellotron is your friend.
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Wolverine Posted 4:13 am
23 Aug 2008
Now, on to the real issue. While it was briefly mentioned, it should have been stressed that the problem is cattle, specifically their waste re this specific problem. It's not the produce that needs to be regulated, it's the cattle operations. Reason number 337(a) to boycott beef if you're an environmentalist!
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LimitsToGrowth Posted 11:39 am
23 Aug 2008
It isn't an easy read, but it traces the history of irradiating food. You can check the library for it, otherwise it was only $10.00 from their website.
"Food irradiation is good for food because it's so dangerous for everything that is living". Ari Brynjolfsson, MIT
Page 20
"Scientists have observed serious health problems in lab animals fed irradiated foods. These include premature death, cancer, tumors, stillbirths, mutations, organ damage, immune system failure, and stunted growth."
If you use spices or eat non-organic ground beef, your probably already eating irradiated food. Food companies aren't as interested in providing us with safe food as they are in being able to ship food in easier from other countries and so it has a longer shelf life.
Do we really want to give food producers a tool so they can continue the filthy practices that infects our food in the first place- and on top of it one that every instinct tells you it can't be healthy?
I intend to do my best to avoid irradiated foods. Shame I may have to give up going out to dinner or lunch if the practice becomes widespread.
As was pointed out, we should reform the food system rather than putting a Band-aid on it.
We can't have sustainability without a sustainable population. It's time for a national population policy. See npg.org
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edarnold41 Posted 4:49 am
25 Aug 2008
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craigs21 Posted 2:33 pm
26 Aug 2008
Please do not allow a bunch of radical hippies to dictate our food safety. Do the research yourself. This is a good thing.
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