--- HSI Research Teamwrote: > To: > Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 16:00:00 -0500 > From: HSI Research Team > Subject: Radiation Nation > > RADIATION NATION > > Health Sciences Institute e-Alert > > February 10, 2003 > > ************************************************************** > > Dear Reader, > > After sending you the e-Alert last week about > irradiated beef > ("Don't Beam Me Up" 2/4/03), I came across a news > item > announcing that a popular supermarket chain began > selling > irradiated ground beef on February 2nd in six > mid-Atlantic > states, including Maryland, where I live. These > stores are > among some 4,000 nationwide that currently sell > irradiated > beef. > > This alone would be unsettling enough. But in > response to > that e-Alert, I received a reply from HSI Pane list > Jon Barron > with additional information about the irradiation > process > that I guarantee will make you think twice the next > time you > stop off at your grocery to buy meat products. > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > Who let the nutrients out? > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > To briefly recap: Irradiation is a process by which > a food > product is exposed to extremely high doses of > radiation to > kill bacteria, parasites and funguses that may cause > spoilage > or disease. And if that were all irradiation did, > that would > be fine. But as we'll see, there's much more to it > than that. > > Jon begins by describing the process in more detail: > "Food is > exposed to 'hard' irradiation, usually gamma rays > from a > source like cobalt-80, in doses of 100,000 to > 3,000,000 rads. > To give yo u a sense of how high a dose this is, > understand > that a dose of just 10,000 rads will totally destroy > any > living tissue." > > As HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., made clear last > week, an > abundance of nutrients are also eliminated by this > process. > Jon agrees, and says, "as much as 70% of the Vitamin > A, B1 > and B2 in irradiated milk is destroyed, and about > 30% of > Vitamin C." Unfortunately, irradiation also > accelerates the > growth of aspergillus mold, "which produces the most > potent > natural carcinogens known to man, called > aflatoxins." > > I wish I could say that's the worst of it - but > we're just > getting started. > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > A radiotoxin by any other name... > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > Processing food with the extremely high levels of > gamma rays > described above results in the creation of some very > > dangerous molecules, about which Jon gives this > interesting > but frightening background: "They were originally > called 'radiotoxins' by Russian researchers. Since > that word > would be frightening to American consumers, the FDA > came up > with a couple of 'softer' terms. They call them > 'known > radiolytic products' to describe the molecules that > are > created such as formaldehyde and benzene (known > carcinogens), > and as for those chemical molecules created by > irradiation > and that have never before been seen by man, the FDA > came up > with the equally soft 'unique radiolytic products.'" > > > Long before the FDA started assigning more palatable > terms > for these very unappetizing results, it had already > reviewed > more than 400 studies about the irradiation process. > But Jon > tells us whe re that review process fell woefully > short: "They > accepted 226 studies for further review. They then > narrowed > their criteria and selected only 69 for in-depth > review. Of > these, the FDA itself reported that 32 of the 69 > showed > adverse effects, and 37 showed safety problems. Then > without > explanation, they eliminated all but 5 of the 69 > (including > every negative study) and said they would base their > decision > on those 5 alone. > > "In the FDA's final report approving food radiation, > they > wrote that when up to 35% of the lab-animal diet was > > radiated, feeding studies had to be terminated > because of > premature mortality or morbidity." And in one test > at the > Medical College of Virginia, rats fed irradiated > beef "died > of hemorrhagic syndrome in 34 days." > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > Running from th e radura > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > According to Jon, "Foods already approved for > irradiation > include: fruits, vegetables, wheat, flour, herbs, > spices, > nuts, seeds, peas, pork, and chicken." And to that > we can add > ground beef - now in a supermarket in my > neighborhood, and > very likely in yours as well. > > If you don't like the idea of irradiated food (and > at this > point I can't imagine how anyone possibly could), > you can > look for a symbol called the "radura" which is > required on > the packaging of irradiated foods. The radura is a > green > circle (broken into four segments at the top of the > circle), > enclosing a flower image represented by a large > green dot > with two petals below the dot. > > But even if you avoid products marked with the > radura, you're > still not in the clear. As Jon explains, "The FDA > requires a > label stating a food has been radiated if, and only > if, it > was radiated as a 'whole food' and then is sold > unchanged. > But, if you process it in any way, if you add any > other > ingredients to it, it no longer requires a label > stating that > it (or any of its ingredients) were irradiated. To > put it > simply, an irradiated orange would require a label; > irradiated orange juice would not." > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > An uncomfortable level of comfort > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > But even if people see the radura on a package of > ground > beef, a bag of Brazil nuts, or a sticker on an apple > - do > they know what its significance is? And worse, do > they have > any idea of the risks? By and large, my guess is > "no." In a > report from Reuters last December, a survey & gt; conducted by the > National Cattlemen's Beef Association found that > almost half > of Americans say they would feel comfortable > purchasing > irradiated meat. This response was 10 percent higher > than it > had been to the same question on a similar > nationwide survey > earlier in the year. > > In other words, people are apparently becoming > comfortable > with the idea of irradiated food. And it seems > they'll have > ample opportunity to buy it. SureBeam Corporation > (the > largest provider of irradiation technology in the > U.S.) plans > to process more than 300 million pounds of beef this > year. > Last year they processed only 15 million pounds. > > Feel free to forward this e-Alert to friends and > relatives. > Help us spread the word that this idea, whose time > has > apparently come, is not a good idea, although it > looks like > it's probably here to stay. So it may be the best > that we can > do to avoid irradiated foods by looking for the odd > green > flower. > > My thanks to Jon Barron for his exhaustive profile > of this > subject. Jon has researched and written extensively > about > alternative medicine, nutrition, and herbal remedies > for > almost thirty years. For more information about Jon > and his > work, visit his web site at jonbarron.com.
