Earlier this week Food Safety News ran a two-part series on food irradiation. Part one focused on the science behind the process, while part two focused on the foods that could benefit the most from irradiation (beef, spinach, spices). The series did a good job of pointing out the benefits (albeit questionable ones) of the process, but failed to illustrate that large-scale food production is the leading cause of food-borne pathogens to begin with.
First off lets talk about what food irradiation actually is. According to Wikipedia Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food. The radiation damages the DNA in the microorganisms, etc until they can longer repair themselves and therefore die. Proponents, like Ron Eustice, Executive Director of the Minnesota Beef Council, argue that in addition to reducing harmful pathogens in red meat and poultry, food irradiation can “eliminate insects in fruits and vegetables, delay ripening of fruits and vegetables, extend freshness, and all the while [leave food] virtually unchanged with no loss in vitamins or minerals.” Opponents argue that the benefits are unproven and that long-term studies are needed before this practice is allowed to become commonplace.
A glaring omission from the series is why irradiation is needed at all. The truth of the matter is we have larger rates of food-borne illness because of the size of our food production system. On large scale operations like CAFOs keeping meat safe is a difficult endeavor. E.coli outbreaks in leafy greens like Spinach have also been tied to manure and runoff from these CAFOs. Irradiating the food along it’s production path in an operation of that size might have its place, but it could also lead to less attention to safety measures along other parts of the chain.
A move towards smaller, regional food production systems without the problems of overcrowding and high-speed slaughter would not eliminate food borne pathogens altogether, but it would certainly make irradiating our food seem less like a reasonable option.
Irradaiton sort of reminds me of the college kid approach to cleaning the apartment. Rather than actually, you know, cleaning, they fog the flat with air freshener and hope no one notices how grimy the place really is.