[USDA press release below | More on Irradiation]
WASHINGTON - The Department of Agriculture lifted its prohibition on irradiated ground beef in the national school lunch program Thursday, giving local school districts the option of ordering meat decontaminated with gamma rays, X-rays or electrons as early as next January.
The department issued regulations allowing the purchase of irradiated ground beef over the objections of several consumer groups that have voiced concerns about the technology's safety for the 27 million students in the nation's school lunch program.
"While there is not a lot of evidence that irradiation harms anybody, neither has there been any group of people who has consumed irradiated food over a long period of time," said Arthur Jaeger, associate director of the Consumer Federation of America. "We have said all along that we don't think school kids are the place to start serving irradiated ground beef."
Proponents of the irradiation, including the federal government and meat industry representatives, call irradiation a valuable process for killing disease-causing microbes such as salmonella and E. coli. They say 40 years of testing have established its safety. The Food and Drug Administration approved the process in 1997, and two years later the USDA approved the sale of irradiated meat in grocery stores.
"Protecting the public from food-borne illness is a priority," said Elsa Murano, the USDA's undersecretary for food safety. "Irradiation technology is another tool to enhance food safety."
Congress inserted a provision into last year's farm bill requiring the USDA to make irradiated meat available to local districts through the school lunch program. That provision could be a boon to the industry: Irradiated meat accounts for less than 5 percent of overall meat sales, according to industry estimates.
This year alone, the federal government bought 132 million pounds of ground beef for the school lunch program. "By offering schools the option of purchasing irradiated meat for school lunches ... the USDA could become the largest distributor of irradiated food in the world," said Wenonah Hauter, a director at Public Citizen, a consumer group.
Under the school lunch program, the USDA buys meat and other commodities, which it distributes to schools. While the USDA commodities account for only about 20 percent of the food consumed in the school lunch program, they supply all of the program's meat, poultry and cheese. School systems buy other goods from local suppliers.
In issuing its regulations, USDA officials said they didn't know how much irradiated ground beef the agency would end up ordering from meat companies. Irradiated ground beef costs as much as 16 percent more than regular ground meat, leading some analysts to believe that, coupled with the controversy surrounding the process, there will be little incentive for school systems to order the product.
Local school districts will have the final say over whether they order either irradiated or nonirradiated beef. USDA officials said they would provide information packages about the safety of irradiated beef to help guide local districts in their decisions.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released a letter he wrote to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, warning that many parents have concerns about the "possible health effects" of eating irradiated meat.
"The scientific debate over the safety of meat irradiation is far from conclusive," Leahy wrote, citing European and other studies linking the process to elevated cancer rates. "It also remains uncertain how these health effects could be compounded in the bodies of developing children."
[See USDA Technical Requirements Schedule – GB-2003 / USDA 29may03]
WASHINGTON– The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released specifications for the purchase of irradiated ground beef for donation through the National School Lunch Program. The product will be available for schools to order in January 2004.
The 2002 Farm Bill directs USDA to not prohibit the use of approved food safety technologies on foods purchased for the National School Lunch Program. The law’s report language also indicates that USDA should consider “the acceptability by recipients of products purchased” by USDA for commodity distribution. Therefore, before irradiated beef is made available for order by schools in January 2004, USDA will provide balanced consumer education materials to all school districts to use in educating parents, students and the community in their decision to order the product. The decision to order and serve irradiated ground beef will be made by local school districts.
“Each school district will have the option to choose between irradiated and non-irradiated ground beef products and will decide how to notify parents and students if they choose to offer them,” said Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Eric Bost. “While USDA does not have the authority to require that schools inform parents and students about whether or not the district will be ordering irradiated beef, USDA is strongly encouraging schools to provide information to students, teachers, food service personnel, school administrators, parents and caregivers as part of the decision-making process.”
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service will provide all school districts with an informational package to prepare them to decide whether to order irradiated beef products. The package will be mailed in June 2003 and will include a letter from Under Secretary Bost strongly encouraging schools to notify parents, students and the community if they are planning to order irradiated beef. In addition, the package will include a brochure with answers to commonly asked questions about irradiation. This letter will also include web-site addresses for the brochure as well as the site for the Food and Drug Administration irradiation consumer information. The letter will give information regarding the community educational materials currently under development by the State of Minnesota that will be available to schools in Fall 2003.
On May 1, 2003, USDA announced specification for all ground beef items purchased for the National School Lunch Program that added new process and testing requirements throughout the manufacturing process. “USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will utilize test results to measure the performance of processing systems producing raw and finished ground beef products for purchase by USDA,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bill Hawks. “Both irradiated and non-irradiated ground beef products will be subject to these new requirements.”
“Protecting the public from foodborne illnesses is a priority for USDA,” said Under Secretary for Food Safety Elsa Murano. “Irradiation technology is another tool to enhance food safety. It is important to remember, however, that this technology is not a substitute for proper hygiene, good sanitation and safe handling and preparation practices in the processing plant and school cafeterias.”
In 1997, the Food and Drug Administration approved irradiation of raw meat and poultry products after a thorough scientific review of a substantial number of studies conducted worldwide on the effects of irradiation on a wide variety of products. The studies included examination of the chemical effects of irradiation on food, impact on nutrient content of irradiated products, potential toxicity concerns and effects on microorganisms in or on irradiated products. FDA concluded that irradiation is safe in reducing disease-causing microbes and that it does not compromise the nutritional quality of treated products. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) approved its use in raw meat and poultry in 1999. Food irradiation has been approved in 37 countries for more than 40 food products. The United Nation’s World Health Organization, Codex Alimentarius Commission, American Medical Association and many others have endorsed the process.
FSIS inspects all meat and poultry products, including those that are irradiated. Additionally, FSIS conducts microbial testing to be sure plants are producing wholesome products. Only FSIS federally-inspected establishments and state-inspected facilities that meet the same requirements specified in the federal regulations are able to irradiate meat.
Meat and poultry establishments that use irradiation must meet sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations. Additionally, FSIS conducts microbial testing to be sure plants are producing wholesome products.
Jean Daniel (703) 305-2286 Martha Abrams (202) 720-4623
For information on the National School Lunch Program, visit www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/ More details on irradiation can be found at www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/topics/irrmenu.htm and the new ground beef specifications with irradiation included is available at www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/cp/beef/beef_whatsnew.htm.
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