WHO ‘negligent’ over food irradiation

Date: 17/10/02

By Karen Carstens

MOST member states fulfil EU guidelines in adequately informing consumers about any irradiated food products they may be putting in their supermarket trolleys, the European Commission found in its first-ever report on the topic.

But in the UK, officials discovered evidence of irradiation in 42 of certain dietary supplements, among them alfalfa, cat's claw, devil's claw, garlic, ginger, ginko biloba, and ginseng.

Since most of these supplements cannot be irradiated legally in the EU, the Commission has asked the other member states to check this particular sector.

'This report helps us to identify where we should focus our attention in future as regards irradiated food, to ensure that the rules are respected and that consumers are properly informed,' David Byrne, the health and consumer affairs commissioner, said.

Irradiation is the treatment of foods with high-energy, ionising radiation that can be used to prolong the shelf-life of products and/or to reduce health hazards associated with the presence of pathogenic micro-organisms.

Meanwhile, an international coalition of groups which oppose food irradiation last week released a report criticising a decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to endorse the procedure, despite 'a growing body of evidence' suggesting irradiated food may not be safe.

'The WHO's negligence could put at risk the health of millions of people throughout the world,' Wenonaha Hauter, director of the Washington-based Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program, said. 'These risks will only worsen as food supply systems further globalise.

'By acting now, it is not too late to fend off a global health disaster,' she added.

According to this report, the WHO has dismissed research documenting a wide range of serious health problems in lab animals that ate irradiated foods, including premature death, mutations, nutritional deficiencies, reproductive problems, organ damage, tumours and stunted growth.

The WHO, it claims, had no business proclaiming in 1999 that 'treating' foods with irradiation 'does not result in any toxicological hazard'.

The groups demand that the WHO promptly withdraw its endorsement of irradiated food, conduct new, peer-reviewed research into the matter and appoint an independent panel of experts to carry out a comprehensive review of WHO, and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) stance on food irradiation.

In the EU, all irradiated food must be labelled with the words 'irradiated' or 'treated with ionising radiation'.

The list of products authorised for food irradiation within the EU is short and spicy, containing only one food category: 'dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings'.

Yet five member states - Belgium, France, Italy, the UK and the Netherlands - also allow the marketing of certain irradiated foods such as fresh and dried fruits and vegetables, poultry, shrimps, fish and frogs' legs.

The European Parliament is currently considering expanding the EU-wide list of foods authorised for irradiation to include most of the above.

A 1999 EU law stipulates that irradiation of a specific food product is only allowed if there is reasonable technological need; it presents no health hazard; it is of benefit to consumers, and; it is not used as a substitute for hygiene and health practices.

The marketing of any product not complying with this directive has been prohibited since March 2001.

An international coalition of groups which oppose food irradiation have released a report criticising a decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to endorse the procedure. Article is part of a European Voice survey 'Feeding the World'.