Fw: The Irradiation of Eggs: The Details

[Guest guest]

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From: aajonus <optimal@...>

aajonus <optimal@...>

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 18:43:08 -0800

Subject: The Irradiation of Eggs: The Details

Message-ID: <3A70E43C.957877B7@...>

The Irradiation of Eggs: The Details

First, federal officials allowed the

flour in your toast to be " treated " with

radiation. Then they said the potatoes in

your homefries could be irradiated. Next

they said it was OK to irradiate your

bacon. Then they legalized the irradiation

of the apples and cantaloupe in your fruit

salad, and the onions and peppers in your

Western omelet.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration legalized the irradiation of

eggs.

So much for the all-American breakfast.

The announcement marks the FDA’s sixth major

decision since 1985 to allow portions of the

American food supply to be exposed to high

levels of radiation -- the equivalent of

tens of millions of chest x-rays for the

stated purpose of killing " harmful "

microorganisms and extending the shelf life

of food. As in many of their previous rulings,

FDA officials have -- in the pages of official

U.S. government documents -- misrepresented

scientific research to support their opinion

that irradiated food is safe to eat.

FDA officials, international health planners

and food industry executives are embracing the

use of radiation " treatments " as a way to

reduce food-borne disease, despite 50 years of

research indicating that irradiated food may not

be safe for human consumption.

Among many unseemly side-effects, irradiation

destroys vitamins, nutrients and essential fatty

acids in food; leads to the formation of free

radicals, which set off chain reactions that

tear apart cell membranes and make the body more

susceptible to cancer and diabetes; can spawn

mutant forms of E. coli, Salmonella and other

harmful bacteria, making them more difficult to

kill; can lead to the formation of carcinogens

and other toxic chemicals such as benzene,

formaldehyde, octane, butane and methyl propane;

can corrupt the flavor and texture of foods,

leading to meat that smells like a wet dog and

onions that turn brown; kills beneficial

microorganisms, such as the yeasts and molds

that help keep botulism at bay; and does nothing

to remove the feces, urine, pus, vomit and

tumors often left on beef, chicken, and lamb due

to filthy and inhumane slaughterhouse conditions.

Moreover, experiments conducted over the past

half-century at universities and research

institutions throughout the world have revealed

that lab animals fed irradiated food have

suffered premature death, cancer, reproductive

and immune problems, liver and kidney dysfunction,

low birth weight, nutritional muscular dystrophy

and chromosomal damage, among many serious health

problems.

FDA officials not only have ignored these problems,

they have relied on questionable research that has

obscured the well-documented hazards of exposing

food to radiation.

The FDA, for instance, cited only 7 of more than

400 scientific studies to determine that irradiated

food is safe to eat. In all seven of these studies,

researchers fudged their results by using doses of

radiation at or far below levels ultimately

approved by the FDA, added nutrients to the diets

of lab animals to offset the harmful effects of

irradiation -- and, in at least two studies --

both. Four of the seven studies have never been

published in peer-reviewed journals. And three of

the studies have never been translated into English.

Eggs are just as vulnerable to radiation as other

classes of food, if not more so. Research has shown

that:

· Irradiated eggs are deficient in vitamin A and

niacin. FDA officials admit that eggs lose 24

percent of their vitamin A when exposed to just

one-third the level of radiation the agency approved

today.

· Irradiation severely disrupts the interaction

between albumin (a protein found in egg whites that

is essential for proper blood circulation,

especially in infants) and trypsin (a pancreatic

enzyme that plays a key role in healing, digestion

and cancer prevention).

· The high fat content of eggs makes them highly

susceptible to lipid peroxidation, a dangerous type

of chemical reaction that spawns free radicals,

can initiate chain reactions in the body, destroy

cell membranes, and hamper the body’s ability to

prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease and muscular

degeneration.

· Irradiated eggs are aesthetically displeasing.

Their yolks are more watery, and have less color

and brightness than normal eggs. They are also more

difficult to cook with, requiring more time to whip

and yielding angel-food cakes with half the volume.

· Radiation can cause Salmonella and other bacteria

to mutate -- sometimes into hardier strains. A 1990

study co-authored by veteran U.S. Department of

Agriculture researcher Thayer concluded that

Salmonella becomes more resistant when exposed to

radiation. In their formal Federal Register filing

published today, however, FDA officials used the

Thayer study to support the proposal. In doing so,

FDA officials misrepresented Thayer’s findings. The

FDA stated the six strains of Salmonella that Thayer

studied were equally susceptible to radiation, when

Thayer actually discovered that one strain was

" significantly " more resistant than the other five.

· Irradiation serves to mask the wretched conditions

in which chickens are raised in today’s factory

farms. Chickens are debeaked and crammed by the tens

of thousands into huge poultry houses, where they

wallow in their own feces and the filth from other

chickens, breath air so thick with ammonia and dust

that workers are advised to wear respirators, and are

often reduced to cannibalism and eating " litter, " a

putrid mixture of excrement, rotten food, and bodies

of dead chickens, rats and mice.

The request to irradiate eggs was filed by

phson, a 40-year veteran of the irradiation

movement. phson, now 84, oversaw the U.S. Army’s

food irradiation lab in Natick, Massachusetts, for

more than 10 years during the 1960s and 1970s. It was

during phson’s watch that, in 1968, the FDA

rescinded the Army’s permission to serve irradiated

bacon to military personnel after it was revealed

that lab animals fed irradiated food suffered

premature death, a rare form of cancer, tumors,

reproductive problems and low weight gain. A high-

ranking FDA officials wrote at the time -- in an

article that few eyes have seen since -- that " it

is clearly apparent that the FDA cannot conclude

that the irradiation of bacon has shown to be a safe

process. "

Also under phson’s watch, the Army hired a

private outfit whose research into food irradiation

was so sloppy that, according to an investigation by

the U.S. General Accounting Office, " the data from

these studies has been determined as being useless. "

The snafu cost taxpayers $4 million. (Three

executives of the company were convicted on federal

charges for their fraudulent work on a different

project.)

Beyond his research work, phson has frequently

been quoted in magazines and journals in support of

irradiation and in opposition to policies that could

limit its advancement. He once said, for instance,

that labeling irradiated food as such " would tend to

have an unfavorable psychological effect " on

consumers.

phson’s research on egg irradiation has been

partially underwritten by MDS Nordion, an Ontario,

Canada-based company that owns an irradiation

facility in rural southwest Florida. MDS Nordion is

a business partner of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.,

which has been responsible for the proliferation of

nuclear technology to Argentina (which has nuclear

ties with Iran), China (which has been accused of

smuggling nuclear secrets to Iran, Iraq and Pakistan),

and India and Pakistan (both of which eventually

developed nuclear weapons).

In a Friday press release, MDS Nordion executives

said they were " delighted " by the FDA’s ruling. In

cheering the decision, however, MDS Nordion

mistakenly took partial credit for it, calling

itself a " co-petitioner " with phson. According

to the FDA, MDS Nordion is not named in the egg

irradiation application.

[Guest guest]

> The Irradiation of Eggs: The Details

>

> First, federal officials allowed the

> flour in your toast to be " treated " with

> radiation. Then they said the potatoes in

> your homefries could be irradiated. Next

> they said it was OK to irradiate your

> bacon. Then they legalized the irradiation

> of the apples and cantaloupe in your fruit

> salad, and the onions and peppers in your

> Western omelet.

>

> On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug

> Administration legalized the irradiation of

> eggs.

>

> So much for the all-American breakfast.

>

> The announcement marks the FDA's sixth major

> decision since 1985 to allow portions of the

> American food supply to be exposed to high

> levels of radiation -- the equivalent of

> tens of millions of chest x-rays for the

> stated purpose of killing " harmful "

> microorganisms and extending the shelf life

> of food. As in many of their previous rulings,

> FDA officials have -- in the pages of official

> U.S. government documents -- misrepresented

> scientific research to support their opinion

> that irradiated food is safe to eat.

>

> FDA officials, international health planners

> and food industry executives are embracing the

> use of radiation " treatments " as a way to

> reduce food-borne disease, despite 50 years of

> research indicating that irradiated food may not

> be safe for human consumption.

>

> Among many unseemly side-effects, irradiation

> destroys vitamins, nutrients and essential fatty

> acids in food; leads to the formation of free

> radicals, which set off chain reactions that

> tear apart cell membranes and make the body more

> susceptible to cancer and diabetes; can spawn

> mutant forms of E. coli, Salmonella and other

> harmful bacteria, making them more difficult to

> kill; can lead to the formation of carcinogens

> and other toxic chemicals such as benzene,

> formaldehyde, octane, butane and methyl propane;

> can corrupt the flavor and texture of foods,

> leading to meat that smells like a wet dog and

> onions that turn brown; kills beneficial

> microorganisms, such as the yeasts and molds

> that help keep botulism at bay; and does nothing

> to remove the feces, urine, pus, vomit and

> tumors often left on beef, chicken, and lamb due

> to filthy and inhumane slaughterhouse conditions.

>

> Moreover, experiments conducted over the past

> half-century at universities and research

> institutions throughout the world have revealed

> that lab animals fed irradiated food have

> suffered premature death, cancer, reproductive

> and immune problems, liver and kidney dysfunction,

> low birth weight, nutritional muscular dystrophy

> and chromosomal damage, among many serious health

> problems.

>

> FDA officials not only have ignored these problems,

> they have relied on questionable research that has

> obscured the well-documented hazards of exposing

> food to radiation.

>

> The FDA, for instance, cited only 7 of more than

> 400 scientific studies to determine that irradiated

> food is safe to eat. In all seven of these studies,

> researchers fudged their results by using doses of

> radiation at or far below levels ultimately

> approved by the FDA, added nutrients to the diets

> of lab animals to offset the harmful effects of

> irradiation -- and, in at least two studies --

> both. Four of the seven studies have never been

> published in peer-reviewed journals. And three of

> the studies have never been translated into English.

>

> Eggs are just as vulnerable to radiation as other

> classes of food, if not more so. Research has shown

> that:

>

> · Irradiated eggs are deficient in vitamin A and

> niacin. FDA officials admit that eggs lose 24

> percent of their vitamin A when exposed to just

> one-third the level of radiation the agency approved

> today.

>

> · Irradiation severely disrupts the interaction

> between albumin (a protein found in egg whites that

> is essential for proper blood circulation,

> especially in infants) and trypsin (a pancreatic

> enzyme that plays a key role in healing, digestion

> and cancer prevention).

>

> · The high fat content of eggs makes them highly

> susceptible to lipid peroxidation, a dangerous type

> of chemical reaction that spawns free radicals,

> can initiate chain reactions in the body, destroy

> cell membranes, and hamper the body's ability to

> prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease and muscular

> degeneration.

>

> · Irradiated eggs are aesthetically displeasing.

> Their yolks are more watery, and have less color

> and brightness than normal eggs. They are also more

> difficult to cook with, requiring more time to whip

> and yielding angel-food cakes with half the volume.

>

> · Radiation can cause Salmonella and other bacteria

> to mutate -- sometimes into hardier strains. A 1990

> study co-authored by veteran U.S. Department of

> Agriculture researcher Thayer concluded that

> Salmonella becomes more resistant when exposed to

> radiation. In their formal Federal Register filing

> published today, however, FDA officials used the

> Thayer study to support the proposal. In doing so,

> FDA officials misrepresented Thayer's findings. The

> FDA stated the six strains of Salmonella that Thayer

> studied were equally susceptible to radiation, when

> Thayer actually discovered that one strain was

> " significantly " more resistant than the other five.

>

> · Irradiation serves to mask the wretched conditions

> in which chickens are raised in today's factory

> farms. Chickens are debeaked and crammed by the tens

> of thousands into huge poultry houses, where they

> wallow in their own feces and the filth from other

> chickens, breath air so thick with ammonia and dust

> that workers are advised to wear respirators, and are

> often reduced to cannibalism and eating " litter, " a

> putrid mixture of excrement, rotten food, and bodies

> of dead chickens, rats and mice.

>

> The request to irradiate eggs was filed by

> phson, a 40-year veteran of the irradiation

> movement. phson, now 84, oversaw the U.S. Army's

> food irradiation lab in Natick, Massachusetts, for

> more than 10 years during the 1960s and 1970s. It was

> during phson's watch that, in 1968, the FDA

> rescinded the Army's permission to serve irradiated

> bacon to military personnel after it was revealed

> that lab animals fed irradiated food suffered

> premature death, a rare form of cancer, tumors,

> reproductive problems and low weight gain. A high-

> ranking FDA officials wrote at the time -- in an

> article that few eyes have seen since -- that " it

> is clearly apparent that the FDA cannot conclude

> that the irradiation of bacon has shown to be a safe

> process. "

>

> Also under phson's watch, the Army hired a

> private outfit whose research into food irradiation

> was so sloppy that, according to an investigation by

> the U.S. General Accounting Office, " the data from

> these studies has been determined as being useless. "

> The snafu cost taxpayers $4 million. (Three

> executives of the company were convicted on federal

> charges for their fraudulent work on a different

> project.)

>

> Beyond his research work, phson has frequently

> been quoted in magazines and journals in support of

> irradiation and in opposition to policies that could

> limit its advancement. He once said, for instance,

> that labeling irradiated food as such " would tend to

> have an unfavorable psychological effect " on

> consumers.

>

> phson's research on egg irradiation has been

> partially underwritten by MDS Nordion, an Ontario,

> Canada-based company that owns an irradiation

> facility in rural southwest Florida. MDS Nordion is

> a business partner of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.,

> which has been responsible for the proliferation of

> nuclear technology to Argentina (which has nuclear

> ties with Iran), China (which has been accused of

> smuggling nuclear secrets to Iran, Iraq and Pakistan),

> and India and Pakistan (both of which eventually

> developed nuclear weapons).

>

> In a Friday press release, MDS Nordion executives

> said they were " delighted " by the FDA's ruling. In

> cheering the decision, however, MDS Nordion

> mistakenly took partial credit for it, calling

> itself a " co-petitioner " with phson. According

> to the FDA, MDS Nordion is not named in the egg

> irradiation application.