*suvine Wrote in Re: Food labeled as "raw" that isn't really raw:
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"..mangos from India. Papayas from hawaii..imported durian, imported thai coconuts.. all irradiated with electrons"


---what...? i heard about coconuts being radiated... but why are papayas and mangos irradiated....???

---i love eating papayas, and there are absolutely no organic papayas existent (in sweden), so i eat inorganic papayas..., now that you say they are treated with irradiation...., i am worried... why...?

---what really happens with a fruit nutrient properties when it is treated by irradiation...? is there a possibility that nutrients are transformed by radiation treatment in to anti-nutrients..., similarly to when a protein becomes dirty-protein at heating...

would be good to know, so i might need to reevaluate my choices from now on...

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Food : Types of Food That are Being Irradiated

[www.aboutnuclear.org]

The following table lists the types of food that are irradiated, with the applied dose and the effects.*

Types of Food --- Radiation Dose in kGy --- Effect of Treatment:

Meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, some vegetables, baked goods, prepared foods --- 20 - 71 --- Sterilization. The treated product can be stored at room temperature without spoilage. The treated product is safe for hospital patients who require microbiologically sterile diets.

Spices and other seasonings --- Up to maximum of 30 --- Reduces number of microorganisms and insects. Replaces chemicals used for this purpose.

Meat, poultry, fish --- 0.1 - 10 --- Delays spoilage by reducing the number of microorganisms in the fresh, refrigerated product. Kills some types of food poisoning bacteria and renders harmless disease-causing parasites (e.g. trichinae).

Strawberries and some other fruits --- 1 - 5 --- Extends shelf life by delaying mold growth.

Grain, fruit, vegetables, and other foods subject to insect infestation --- 0.1 - 2 --- Kills insects or prevents them from reproducing. Could partially replace post-harvest fumigants used for this purpose.

Bananas, avocados, mangos, papayas, guavas and certain other non-citrus fruits --- 1.0 maximum --- Delays ripening.

Potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger --- 0.05 - 0.15 --- Inhibits sprouting.

Grain, dehydrated vegetables, other foods --- Various doses --- Desirable physical changes (e.g. reduced rehydration times).

*Irradiated Foods, American Council on Science and Health


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Oct. 23, 2002 USDA Rule on Irradiated Produce is Huge Loss for Consumers, U.S. Farmers
[www.citizen.org]

Statement of Wenonah Hauter, Director of Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program

Public Citizen is extremely disappointed that the Bush administration has decided to approve a rule that will permit the import of irradiated fruits and vegetables. The rule, which was issued by the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and takes effect today, will benefit large food producers, processors and distributors at the expense of small farmers. It also will encourage the proliferation of irradiated food, which has not yet been proven safe for human consumption in the long term. With the adoption of this rule, APHIS, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is continuing its transformation from an agency that was created to protect American agriculture and consumers from foreign pests and diseases into an agency that promotes trade.

We, along with thousands of other consumers, opposed these regulations from the time they were originally proposed during the Clinton administration because of their effects on food, farmers and health. Until the irradiation of food is shown to be safe, this technology should not be used to "treat" imported fruits and vegetables or any other food, for that matter. APHIS acknowledged receiving thousands of comments from citizens who raised safety concerns, but the agency apparently chose to ignore them.

We oppose the rule for the following reasons:

* It is unlikely that APHIS will have enough staff at U.S. ports to track imported irradiated fruits and vegetables so that they can be adequately labeled. With the agency’s rejection of mechanical indicators to identify containers transporting irradiated fruits and vegetables, tracking irradiated fruits and vegetables will be an added burden to an already understaffed workforce. If we don’t know it’s been irradiated when it arrives, we can’t label it, and consumers will not know what they are eating.

* While the rule sets up a regime for inspection of foreign-based irradiation facilities, we do not believe it is adequate. It is unclear whether it will be a regular inspection process or a sporadic one, as we have seen for the USDA inspection of foreign meat plants that are deemed "equivalent" to domestic plants.

* Virtually all types of food including fruits and vegetables suffer some level of nutrient destruction and loss of quality when irradiated. In many cases, even small doses can result in significant loss of vitamins and other nutrients, and a significant decline in food quality. Further, food loses nutrients as it ages. We can expect the irradiated produce to have therefore fewer nutrients because irradiation kills the bacteria that cause food to rot and greatly extends shelf life.

* The government has not guaranteed that for those imported fruits and vegetables that will be irradiated on U.S. soil, invasive pests won’t reach our shores. The new rule will allow non-irradiated products to be imported into 35 states, where the USDA asserts that "fruit flies would not survive the winter." However, the USDA made this statement without providing any supporting evidence. In a report on invasive species released today by the Government Accounting Office, an APHIS official is quoted as saying that there is a "general lack of information" about the success of different measures to prevent the importation of invasive species, short of an outright ban on products from infested areas.

Extensive evidence suggests that cold and heat treatment of perishables – not the use of radiation – is the least expensive technique to control pests in imports. Numerous studies have shown that cold and heat treatments, which are already in use, can meet the mandated control level for insect control, especially when combined with basic sanitation methods.

Creating more opportunities for multinational companies to import "fresh" fruits and vegetables from farther-flung places will only serve to put small-scale American farmers – many of them single-family operations – at a further disadvantage. Small-scale farmers already suffering from the fallout of "free trade" agreements such as NAFTA don’t need more imports, which have resulted in the dumping of lower-priced fruits and vegetables onto American markets. This rule represents yet another blow to small fruit and vegetable producers in this country.

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what are the consequences ?

Longer shelf life for the seller and more dead food for the eater.

EZ rider Wrote:
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what are the consequences ?
Longer shelf life for the seller and more dead food for the eater.

---EZ rider, do you avoid eating foods which most probably have been radiated?
---Can you elaborate "dead" food?
---Do you mean that it becomes worthless for the body energy wise, as the essence in a food is destroyed or made impotent?

I read from another source that say: "Since fruit continues to ripen after being irradiated, it does not harm it any more than widely accepted processing methods, like hot water or refrigeration."

...Still, I think this kind, or any such unnatural kind of processing of food, which i put in to my body, don't feel right at all... I never eat any heated or freezed foods either...

I got a minor shock today when realizing that some stuff I eat most probably
undergoes irradiation treatment... ...and to get correct information about non-organic foods, how or if these been treated, is very hard, it is being kept in a secret sort of it seems... I think most people in Europe, at least in Sweden, do not even suspect that these kind of things are going on (or maybe they just pretend not knowing...?), in the US people are more used to cover-ups and conspiracy from big business, and therefore suspect and question everything... People in Europe, in contrary, seems being easier to deceive and keep in leash...(

---Do I understand right, that "certified organic" labeled foods do not undergo such a treatment, correct...?

---If it is correct, isn't that another convincing reason to purchase only certified organic (or well known local) produce, paying more, eating less in quantity, in the hope to get higher quality and more value from lesser amount of food instead, that is, if not being deceived by big business and its tricks...?

Still, the problem to get the correct information on the food remain, have it been treated or not, it is like chasing a ghost...





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2008 10:40PM by justin1.

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do you avoid eating foods which most probably have been radiated?

Yes.

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Can you elaborate "dead" food?

Food that is no longer in its natural vibrant alive state with its enzymes, chelates, and other natural characteristics intact.

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Do you mean that it becomes worthless for the body energy wise, as the essence in a food is destroyed or made impotent?

Yes.

The problem with irradiation is that we really don't know to what degree amino acids in food are denaturized and micronutrients destroyed. The USDA has not done any large scale, long term studies on this[typical!]. And Justin, my dear, you are wrong, so, so wrong about Americans questioning things like this. Unless Oprah mentions it, the average American remains blissfully unaware! This is really a problem for all of us in the Northern Hemisphere who rely on fresh produce from warmer latitudes at opposite seasons to ours. There was a bit of a hulabaloo earlier this year when it was discovered that lettuces from California might be irradiated for shipping to the rest of the U.S., but one doesn't hear a peep about tropical fruits from South America or Southeast Asia being irradiated. You have to go online and really search for this info. I'd write some agriculture secretary in the government of Sweden and demand an explanation, if I were you.