CURRENT NEWS FROM THE WORLD'S PRESS

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD IRRADIATION

Nuclear News from the world's press on the internet.

Plans to mail holiday treats may turn sour Irradiation affects flavors of some foods
Shipping fruitcakes, cookies or hams to friends and family across the country is a holiday tradition for many in the Bay Area, but the threat of anthrax and plans to irradiate mail could change that.

Berkeley city food policy makes organic the rule
If any city is going to serve an organic salad from a local farm to someone in jail, it will be Berkeley. And under the city's comprehensive new food and nutrition policy, that day might not be far off.

Meatpacker recalls non-irradiated ground beef from 36 states, Washington

IBP Inc. is recalling 500,000 pounds of ground beef from 36 states and the District of Columbia that may be contaminated with the deadly bacteria E. coli O157:H7.

Irradiated food by any other name might just win over consumers

The scene in the television commercial is straight out of Norman Rockwell, with a gray-haired woman pedaling her bicycle through quaint, sun-streaked streets.

Bush Nominates Food Safety Chief

A microbiologist who advocates the use of irradiation to kill food-borne pathogens was nominated by President Bush on Tuesday to oversee the Agriculture Department's food-safety programs.

Fish was major part of diet for early humans, study shows

Fish was a major part of the diet for early humans 20,000 years ago in Europe, in contrast to the red meat preferred by the more primitive Neanderthal, a study shows.

Researchers led by Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis analyzed the levels of the isotopes carbon 13 and nitrogen 15 in the bones of early modern humans unearthed in the Czech Republic, Russia and Britain. Those isotopes are thought to be the chemical signature for a diet rich in fish and waterfowl.

Food safety proves challenge for grocers

Hy-Vee Inc., a Midwestern supermarket chain, experienced every grocer's nightmare when one person died and several others were sickened by contaminated deli meat sold at one of its Minnesota stores.

Consumers don't want food irradiated, Veneman says

Consumers don't want their food irradiated even it if is safer, and a change in terminology is unlikely to change their attitude, says Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.

FDA approves irradiation for animal feed

A process to treat animal feed with radiation to kill bacteria has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Irradiated Meat for Schools Proposed

Bush also would end testing for salmonella The Bush administration has proposed dropping testing for salmonella in ground beef for the school lunch program and allowing schools to serve beef that has been irradiate

Agriculture Chief Disavows Plan to Eliminate Test on School Beef

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman has disavowed a departmental proposal to eliminate testing for salmonella in ground beef for the federal school lunch program.

E. coli scare suspends ham factory

The Takizawa Ham Co. said Wednesday it has suspended operations for seven days at its factory in Tochigi Prefecture in connection with a recent outbreak of food-poisoning caused by the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria.

Pakistan to Use Nuclear Technology in Drought Crisis

A three-year drought has prompted Pakistan to consider new and unorthodox ways of obtaining water. Melting glaciers with charcoal and using nuclear technology to cultivate salt tolerant crops are two of the options under consideration.

Complaint Filed Against Omaha Steaks

A consumer watchdog group has claimed the nation's largest direct marketer of frozen foods hasn't told its customers that its ground beef products have been irradiated

Pioneer in nuclear energy research for peaceful use, dead at 89

Sidney Siegel, a pioneering developer of nuclear power for peaceful uses who recently said the California energy crisis was preventable, has died. He was 89.

FDA Sees Surge in Food Poisoning

Dietary changes, imports pose risk Tapeworm and botulism have been all but eradicated in the United States, and new technologies, from freeze-drying to irradiation, have been developed to make food safer.

Nuclear Reactions (Wolke)

I have written recently about the preservation and sterilization of foods by exposure to ionizing (atom-disrupting) radiation

Irradiated Beef: In Markets, Quietly

Irradiated ground beef is now available in about 1,500 stores across the country, but retailers are apparently still nervous about consumer response.

Spanish Scientists Devise Feed Test for Beef, Cows

Spanish scientists said on Tuesday they had developed a way of detecting the use of animal-based feed in live cattle and in beef products, which could be an important step in the fight against mad cow disease.

Radioactive Fallout Recently (Wolke)

I wrote in this space about the commercial irradiation of foods with X-rays, gamma rays or electron beams to prevent spoilage and to kill harmful bacteria, insects and parasites. Responses to objections

Reef Coral Reveals Clues to El Nino, La Nina Weather Patterns

Reading chemical clues etched in coral up to 130,000 years old, geologists say it appears that El Nino and La Nina, the pulses of warm and cool Pacific waters that can lead to Indonesian droughts and Idaho blizzards, have almost never before reached the sustained intensity seen in the past century.

Irradiated food in stealthy comeback

Irradiatied food, rejected by consumers in the 1980s and 1990s, is returning to the shelves in disguise, a consumer watchdog says today.

Shoppers are warned about 'irradiated' food

Consumers are being urged to look out for supermarket food that has been sterilised using a controversial technique involving radioactive material.

Irradiated food does not cause cancer, say experts

"Food irradiation does not lead to cancer. In fact, several hospitals abroad serve irradiated food to their cancer patients,'' said Sudha Rao, scientist at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

Laboring Under a Disinfectant Nation's obsession with cleanliness misguided, scientists say

It's the bleak winter season again. Days are short, and the air is frigid: The United States has just endured the coldest November and December in its recorded history. And every other person seems to be ill and determined to spread his or her germs.

Irradiated patties now 14 states; new distribution deals pending

The market expansion of Huisken MeatÕs electronically pasteurized premium frozen hamburger patties into at least 1,500 stores in 14 states is a sign that consumers are "getting more comfortable" with the concept of irradiation to eliminate food-borne bacteria, a company spokesman said Friday.

The Case For Radiation

Quiz No. 1: Which of the following are you most afraid of? (a) E. coli, (b) the incoming administration or (c) radiation? Quiz No. 2: Which of the following treatments would you rather have your food subjected to?

IBA granted USDA approval for irradiation of meat, poultry

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted approval to use gamma irradiation to treat meat and poultry products at one of the Midwest's largest food treatment facilities in Schaumburg, IL. The go-ahead will give commercial food processors in the region access to one of the world's most effective technologies for ensuring food safety.

U.S. sets rules for organic food

The government yesterday released the first national standards for growing and processing organic food, a decade after Congress ordered the development of uniform rules to ease the marketing of the products. The new regulations, which will replace a hodgepodge of state standards, will ban the use of biotechnology or irradiation in organic products

Irradiation by another name may be sweeter

FDA is ordered to find a less intimidating label Do consumers have a beef with having their meat irradiated? Lawmakers think so, and they blame it on irradiation, the word.

Consumer response towards irradiated food items increasing:

A study shows that consumer response towards irradiated food items have been increasing gradually in different countries, including Bangladesh, a study conducted by the International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation (ICGFI) said, reports BSS.

E. coli sparks public health battle against foodborne disease

Just before quitting time on the Friday before Labor Day this year, scientists at the Minnesota Department of Health interviewed three people who were just getting over a bout of E. coli infection.

Public Citizen attacks Irradiation Activist groups

Public Citizen and the Cancer Prevention Coalition, are calling for the revocation of all food irradiation permits and a full congressional investigation of the FDA's role in regulating irradiated food.

.FDA criticized for approving irradiation of eggs

"The all-American breakfast is quickly becoming the all-irradiated breakfast. The FDA's decision is not only scientifically irresponsible, but it is an insult ...." said the opposition.