And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 16:23:00 -0400
From: Korey Hartwich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Food Irradiation and You
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Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project
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Unless you act by May 18, the Nuclear Industry
Will Succeed in Forcing Irradiated Food Down Our Throats!
*** A new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule would allow manufacturers
to sell irradiated food without any label warning consumers. By nullifying
the chief obstacle to the expanded use of radiation --consumer
opposition-- this rule would pave the way for a significant expansion of the
sale of irradiated food and give a boost to the nuclear industry.
This would be a disaster!!!
*** Over 550 new facilities would need to be built to irradiate various
foodstuffs if irradiation expands to according to industry projections.
*** Food irradiation facilities have a frightening record of accidents and
other safety incidents.
*** According to a Carnegie-Mellon study, operating irradiators just to
treat meat and poultry (much less spices, wheat, and other foodstuffs) would
be extremely risky, with a 99.7% chance of multiple major incidents at these
facilities (a major incident is defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) as "those that result in a release or spill of radioactive material,
bodily harm, or a long term shut down of the facility").
*** The long term health effects of eating irradiated food are unknown.
Irradiation reduces the vitamin content of food and creates new chemical
substances called radiolytic products. Some of these substances are known
carcinogens, like benzene, and others are completely new substances that
have not been tested for toxicity.
*** ACT NOW!!! ***
** What you can do today **
*** Please write to the FDA and demand that the comment period be extended
past May 18. Tell the FDA that food treated with radiation be indefinitely
labeled with the radura (the international symbol for irradiated food) and a
statement indicating it was treated with radiation. Say the absence of such
a statement would be misleading because irradiation destroys vitamins and
causes changes in sensory and spoilage qualities that are not obvious or
expected by the consumer. Please DO NOT write a general statement opposing
irradiation. The powers that be have already approved irradiation, we can
only fight to keep the public informed (A sample letter can be found below).
*** Write your Representative and Senators, telling them to oppose the FDA
rule (a sample letter can be found below).
*** Send this e-mail to as many concerned citizens as possible.
When writing to FDA, refer to Docket #98N-1038, "Irradiation in the
production, processing, and handling of food".
Send comments before May 18, 1999 to:
Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
or
Send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and/or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Put Docket #98N-1038 in the subject line)
NOTE: E-mail is discouraged because e-mails are often thrown out. A written
letter is the most effective means of communication.
SAMPLE LETTER TO FDA:
Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, Maryland 20852
Re: Docket No. 98N-1038, Irradiation in the Production, Processing, and
Handling of Food
To whom it may concern:
I support the recommendation by the Center for Science in the Public
Interest regarding labeling of irradiated foods:
"any foods, or any foods containing ingredients that have been
treated by
irradiation, should be labeled with a written statement on the principal
display panel indicating such treatment. The statement should be easy to
read and placed in close proximity to the name of the food and accompanied
by the international symbol. If the food is unpackaged, this information
should be clearly displayed on a poster in plain view and adjacent to where
the product is displayed for sale."
Like other labels, irradiation labels are required by the FDA to be
truthful and not misleading. I believe that the terms "treated with
radiation" or "treated by irradiation" should be retained. Any phrase
involving the word "pasteurization" is misleading because pasteurization is
an entirely different process of rapid heating and cooling.
I recognize the radura as information regarding a material fact of
food
processing. The requirement for irradiation disclosure (both label and
radura) should not expire at any time in the future. The material fact of
processing remains. Even if some consumers become familiar with the radura,
new consumers (e.g., young people, immigrants) will not be. The symbol
should be clearly understandable at the point of purchase for everyone. If
there is no label, consumers will be misled into believing the food has not
been irradiated.
I urge you to extend the comment period past its current end date of
May 18
to allow more concerned citizens the time to write in about this issue.
Also, please place the comments received on the Internet so that the public
can be informed about who is participating in this comment process.
Sincerely,
SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS
The Honorable [ ]
Washington, D.C. [ ]
Senator/Representative [ ],
I have recently been made aware of a frightening development at the
Food
and Drug Administration. Under pressure from food manufacturers and
supporters of the nuclear industry, the FDA is considering a rule that would
remove labeling requirements for foods treated with radiation. The public
only has until May 18 to voice its objections to this rule. Currently, any
food treated with radiation during the production process is labeled with a
symbol known as a radura (the international symbol for irradiated foods) and
either a statement saying "treated with radiation" or "treated by
irradiation." The rule before the FDA would allow manufacturers to sell any
and all irradiated foods to the consumer with nary a mention of the use of
radiation during processing. This is bad for consumers.
Despite the fact that the FDA has determined that radiation is safe
for
food, many consumers, including myself, do not want to eat foods treated
with radiation. Radiation changes the texture, taste, nutritional value,
and chemical composition of foods. Radiation creates a heretofore unseen
class of unique radiolytic products that have never been tested for their
possible carcinogenic effects on humans. These are things that I do not
want to put into my body.
This is a clear cut issue of a consumer being able to know what is in
their
food. We know what the fat, protein, carbohydrate, and vitamin content is
in our food, why can we not know whether our food has been treated with
radiation emanating from some of the most deadly substances known to man? I
implore you, as a constituent and a friend, to write a letter to the FDA
about this issue and ask them why your constituents should be kept in the
dark about whether their food has been irradiated and why the comment period
has been so short. Enclosed you will find the letter that I wrote to the
FDA about this issue. I hope it is helpful in formulating your own
comments.
Sincerely,
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Comment:
I don't support food irradiation from the standpoints of it destroying
the nutrient contents in food even more than they already are AND it is a
band aid fix for the rising problems of toxics in the environment destroying
the immune resistance. If we keep this up we may find Americans can't
travels because the water and food in other countries kill them.
It is not a correct direction or solution-----------it is a dodge------it
is allowing more cancers, more diseases.
Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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