http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radura

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy just knowing that our leaders are on top of this one.

There's a company trying to get FDA approval for a process to laser etch produce with the product code and logo to replace the stickers currently used.

All kinds of funky stuff going on with our food.

It's good for my business, though. Know what you're eating. Plant a garden and grow your own!!!

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

If you squint the flower glows in the dark....

__________________
"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

Great, 'bout time we had more irradiated food. Wouldn't have had any of the e coli deaths or sickness with irradiated food. Much healthier and lasts much longer.

__________________
-livin' in the terminally flippant zone

Just think,it will still be safe to eat in 50,000 years.

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Exactly what is the problem with irradiated food?

B

http://www.organicconsumers.org/Irrad/irradfact.cfm

They don't link to any studies, unlike the pro-irradiated sites.

I glanced down the list so I could easily have missed some good arguments. I'm sure somebody will point that out as appropriate.

Some of those are legit concerns, IMO. Waste disposal of radiation sources and materials, for example. To me, that is the biggest problem with any nuclear technology. I remember several years ago when radioactive steel was discovered to have come from recycled medical equipment, melted down and re-used. Who wants to have radioactive flatware, for example?

Some of the arguments lack scientific merit, IMO. The "free radical" argument, for example.

The one about losing flavor. Have they ever eaten canned corn? Whoever invented canned corn should be shot. Irradiated corn would have to be an improvement over that. Nothing beats morning-harvested frech corn. Don't even bother cooking it.

Some of them are a problem of modern society, whether or not food is irradiated -- the website just sort of tacked them on for fun.

B

I had the opportunity to tour the food irradiation lab at ISU.
I wish somebody could explain, scientifically, what the issue is with irradiated food? It isn't as if they are irradiating the food with the power of a nuclear bomb.

What about high pressure sterilization? Haven't heard too much bad press on the process. Anybody eat any? How does it compare to non-high pressure sterilization food?

__________________
Thank You!
Fred
2009 ML350
2004 SL600
2004 SL500
1996 SL600
2002 SLK32
2005 CLK320 cabrio
2003 ML350
1997 C280 Sport

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/351/4/402

Links to The New England Journal of Medicine

There is a divide in thinking that puts people who believe humans are part of nature on one side and other people on the other side.

I have never followed up on it but I heard one person say that studies worldwide have been about 100 to one indicating that irradiation is dangerous.

Personally, I think something else will kill me first but I just love the propaganda value of the Radura symbol.

Irradiation will be necessary to move the agriculture industry to China, etc. It takes time to ship the food and it will spoil without irradiation.

Google searches with
2-dodecylcyclobutanone
should find more info.

I wouldn't lend too much weight to the site you listed. They seem to not even know the difference between gamma rays and x-rays. X-rays are not produced by radioactive material.

Lots of information regarding irradiation of foods. South Africa, among many other countries, have been doing it for years. The food that is irradiated is not radioactive. It's a good idea, just like nuclear energy which does supply the source material for irradiation and also for lots of industrial radiography - which modern society would be in a pickle without.

__________________
-livin' in the terminally flippant zone

Evaluation of 2-Dodecylcyclobutanone as an Irradiation Dose Indicator in Fresh Irradiated Ground Beef

Priyadarshini Gadgil, J. Scott Smith,* Kathleen A. Hachmeister, and Donald H. Kropf

The Food Science Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506

Received for review August 12, 2004. Revised manuscript received January 5, 2005. Accepted January 5, 2005.

Abstract:

Alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) are radiolytic products formed when fatty acids are irradiated. These cyclobutanones are unique irradiation byproducts and therefore may serve as indicators of irradiation exposure. As only limited information exists about 2-ACB formation in retail meat products, reliable methods that can quantify 2-ACBs and thus estimate irradiation dose in commercial meat products are desired. The cyclobutanone studied in this experiment was 2-dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB), which is formed from palmitic acid. The formation of 2-DCB was evaluated in fresh irradiated ground beef patties at two fat levels. Patties containing 15% and 25% fat were irradiated by electron beam at 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.5 kGy. Commercially available 1-lb irradiated ground beef chubs with different fat levels were analyzed in order to estimate dose absorbed by these samples. The 2-DCB was extracted using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and was detected in all the irradiated samples. The concentration of 2-DCB increased linearly with dose with R2 = 0.9646 for 25% fat samples and R2 = 0.9444 for 15% fat samples. Further, there was no significant difference in 2-DCB concentrations between the two fat levels. The estimated doses applied to the commercial samples ranged between 1.38 and 1.55 kGy, values consistent with doses normally used in the industry (1.0-2.0 kGy). Our results show that 2-DCB can be used to monitor fresh irradiated beef and approximate the absorbed dose.

Keywords: Alkylcyclobutanones; irradiation; 2-dodecylcyclobutanone; supercritical fluid extraction, gas chromatography; mass spectroscopy

Title: 2-Dodecylcyclobutanone, a Chemical Produced by Irradiation of Fat Containing Foods, Does Not Induce Mutations in the Escherichia Coli Tryptophan Reverse Mutation Assay
Author
SOMMERS, CHRISTOPHER
Submitted to: Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: July 31, 2003
Publication Date: September 12, 2003
Citation: Sommers, C.H. 2003. 2-dodecylcyclobutanone, a chemical produced by irradiation of fat containing foods, does not induce mutations in the escherichia coli tryptophan reverse mutation assay. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. 51:6367-6370.
Interpretive Summary: Recently it has been reported that 2-dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB) a compound generated in irradiated foods, caused damage to DNA in cultured animal cells. A review of those reports by international regulatory agencies questioned the validity of those reports due to problems with the test methods that were used. Testing of 2-DCB in the Escherichia coli Reverse Mutation Assay, a genetic toxicology assay validated and approved by international regulatory agencies, revealed no creation of mutations by 2-DCB. These results are in agreement with extensive safety of irradiated foods and call into question previous reports of 2-DCB genotoxicity. This report provides valuable information to consumers and regulatory agencies pertaining to the safety of irradiated foods.
Technical Abstract: Like thermal processing, ionizing radiation can break molecular bonds and induce the formation of chemicals not found in the unprocessed product. Irradiation of foods containing palmitic acid can lead to the formation of 2-dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB). In this study, the Escherichia coli Tryptophan Reverse Mutation Assay was used to evaluate the capacity of 2-DCB to induce mutations. E. coli tester strains WP2 [pkM101] and WP2 uvrA [pKM101], with and without exogenous metabolic activation, were exposed to 1 mg/well 2-DCB using the Miniscreen(TM) version of the assay. 2-DCB did not induce mutations in the E. coli Trp Reverse Mutation Assay. These results confirm the safety of irradiated foods as demonstrated by traditionally used short-term and long-term toxicology tests.

Title: Evaluation of toxicity, mutagenicity, metabolism and formation of 2-dodecylcyclobutanone in irradiated ground beef
Authors: Gadgil, Priyadarshini
Keywords: alkylcyclobutanones
2-dodecylcyclobutanone
toxicity
metabolism
irradiation
mass spectrometry
Issue Date: 1-Aug-2006
Publisher: Kansas State University
Abstract: The effect of fat level and antioxidant Origanox on the formation of 2-dodecylcylobutanone (2-DCB) was investigated in fresh irradiated ground beef patties. Patties containing 15% and 25% fat were irradiated by electron beam at 1, 2, 3, and 4.5 kGy. Ground beef patties with 0.08% Origanox were gamma irradiated at 3.0 kGy. Commercially available irradiated ground beef with different fat levels was analyzed in order to estimate dose absorbed by these samples. The 2-DCB was extracted by Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The concentration of 2-DCB increased linearly with dose with no significant difference in 2-DCB concentrations between the two fat levels. The estimated doses applied to the commercial samples ranged between 1.38 kGy and 1.55 kGy. Origanox did not affect the concentration of 2-DCB. Mutagenicity of 2-DCB was evaluated by the Ames assay using five standard Salmonella tester strains with S9 enzyme activation. The Ames assay did not show a mutagenic effect of 2-DCB, including samples incubated with S9. Acute toxicity of 2-DCB was evaluated by the Microtox acute toxicity system and compared with cyclohexanone and 2-nonenal (both GRAS additives). The toxicity of 2-DCB was between that of cyclohexanone and 2-nonenal while the maximum toxic effect elicited by 2-DCB was the least of the three compounds. Metabolism of 2-DCB was investigated in Female Sprague-Dawley rats. Hexane extracts of feces and fat were analyzed by GC-MS. Urine with and without added ?-glucuronidase, was monitored for glucuronide complexes by hexane extraction GC-MS. The total amount of 2-DCB recovered in feces was 1.78 ± 0.63 mg over five days, about 3-11% of the total 2-DCB administered. The total amount recovered in fat was 0.08 ± 0.01 mg which was approximately 0.33% of the total 2-DCB administered. No metabolites were recovered in any of the urine extracts.

Dammit! I hate Grays.

You'd figure a KSU student would use Rads or Roentgens like any normal person.

Anyhoo, doesn't look like there's much to the evil DCB argument. I did like the standard greenie jab of "they took money from the food industry" (should be read in a low ominous and disapproving voice whilst slowly shaking ones head side to side)

Nice of folks to mention also that heat treatment breaks molecular bonds as well. Don't forget, that tasty steak that you just grilled has some of them nasty carcinogens in it as well... Of course, you'd have to eat like 6 cows a week to run a significant chance of having a problem.

__________________
-livin' in the terminally flippant zone

I used to cook fish in an old autoclave.

Irradiation doesn't phase me a bit. But more people are growing leery of the increased handling that our food goes through. It's all about the P.R. The opponents prey on the fear of the uneducated (or generally disinterested) public, and their voice is the one usually heard or read. As one who sells treated and untreated seeds, chemical and organic products, there is a place and an application for each. There are risks and rewards associated with each approach and they need to be balanced.

On a semi-related subject, I think there is a place for GMO's (and as with everything else, there are pro's and con's). But the anti-GMO message was much louder and could be put on a bumper sticker. As a result much of the public is now anti-GMO yet they have no problem growing and/or eating hybrid varieties, which are technically genetically modified. When hybrid plants were introduced they were viewed as monster plants.

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)