Can Irradiating Food Zap Salmonella Outbreaks?

Reader Comments
Back to article

Your article makes it seem like x-rays and gamma rays are different. The only difference is the method of birth of the particle/ray of energy. Once the energy is formed, there is absolutely no way to tell the difference between the two -- so saying one is better than the other for different types of foods is false.
When I was in college, we (the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering Department), had a farmer who irradiates produce bring some in. He brought 4 week old un-refrigerated strawberries -- that were as fresh as the day they were picked. One of the more serious reasons farmers don't want to irradiate their food is money. They know that if they do, you wouldn't have to buy new food every six days.
Studies have shown that irradiating food changes the molecular structure no more than microwaving. People are just scared, but it is perfectly safe.

Edward Dawson of VA 10:41PM April 06, 2009

I have seen the future and some sanitation procedure like irradiation or some similar technique will be universal. The hang-up is that present-day safety will just have to wait until enough objecting old-timers die out (no doubt, some of them from contaminated food).
The downside is that widespread emphasis on big bucks will lead manufacturers to market "clean filth." But rat hair, rat droppings, roach carcasses, if germ and virus free, will undoubtedly come to be trivialized as wholesome but unmentionable protein. That's a situation similar to today's weiners: chock full of lips and other unseemly things that people love to wolf down.
Me, I can't cook but am learning how to doctor up canned vegetables into what I keep attempting to think are gourmet masterpieces, along with trying to convince myself meat is so 20th century.

Ralph Dobbs of AL 2:25PM March 01, 2009

I still doubt that whether the food that is disinfected by X-rays or gamma rays can be taken safely .

Spring 10:21PM February 28, 2009

i love peanut butter... so do what u hafta do peanut-butter companies!!!!! i want more p.b. but im afraid to eat it.... HELP!

bill of MO 10:54AM February 28, 2009

That's what Peanut Corp of America could legally sell to our school lunchrooms, labelled "peanut butter", if irradiation were allowed.
China does this one thing right: if you knowingly sell a tainted product and people die, you die. It is murder for profit, any way you slice it.

Rich of CA 4:06AM February 28, 2009

This is not a longterm or productive solution to food health problems. To solve this problem we must grow and handle our food healthier, not just add another layer of disinfectant. Unhealthy food is unhealthy food despite whether bacteria counts are within legal ranges...
Growing healthy food will require using less fertilizers and pesticides as well as a rethinking of our food infrastructure. I *strongly* urge people interested in this to look into Michael Pollan's in-depth research into this problem. There are other healthier solutions to this problem, and he advocates some very good ones.

Bill of CA 4:22PM February 27, 2009

If peanuts were irradiated then this scum of a company would continue to be in business today. Besides, I want minerals in my nuts. Why eat nuts if the minerals have been zapped?

Chris of OH 3:53PM February 27, 2009

sea

pop of KY 2:29PM February 27, 2009

This is a bad idea not because of some radiation founded or unfounded fears, but because it would cover up bad unsanitary practices even more.
The peanut problem would not have been uncovered if a little radiation was applied to kill the salmonella in the tainted product. But that does not improve the product or solve the inherent food problem.
I'd be afraid of what the radiation was covering up for.

Mike of MD 12:39PM February 27, 2009

It makes me laugh, but a sad laugh, to hear people make foolish claims or connotations about organic food, or make wild allegations about irradiation or other technologies:
"Safe from chemicals and toxins..." Organic foods use chemicals and toxins too, just ORGANIC ones. The USDA certification website has a list of chemicals and toxins that are approved for use on organic foods. And what types of fertilizer is being applied to those organic crops? Natural ones that can provide another vector for pathogens to enter the food supply. Organic is not bad, just not as great as some would claim, and certainly not a panacea for food problems.
Irradiation has a long history of testing and public safety, with continued new developments only improving the technology.
Salmonella, e-coli and all the other pathogenic nasties have been around forever. It is only in the past hundred or so years that sanitation technology has become more effective at combating them. (One reason our life expectancy has gone from the 40's to the 70's and 80's)

O C of AZ 12:03PM February 27, 2009