Truth in food labeling

Monday, April 9, 2007 | 7:33 a.m.

Food and Drug Administration officials have proposed easing federal rules on the labeling of irradiated foods, including allowing some to be called "pasteurized" instead.

The proposal would require foods to carry the irradiated label only when the radiation causes significant changes in taste, texture, odor or shelf life. Radiation kills bacteria in foods but does not make them radioactive. It is effective in preventing bacterial contamination of foods and, along with it, the illnesses such contamination can cause. But radiation treatments also can turn some foods to mush, so the method is not suitable for everything.

Under the proposed FDA guidelines, consumers would not always know whether the food they are purchasing had, indeed, been zapped with radiation. What's more, people buying foods labeled as being "pasteurized" - a process that kills bacteria using high heat and rapid cooling - could, in fact, be irradiated foods under the FDA's proposed guidelines. Food manufacturers would have to submit proof that the radiation killed bacteria in a manner similar to pasteurization in order to carry the "pasteurized" label.

The FDA's own documentation regarding its irradiation proposal says that "many consumers regard substitute terms for irradiation to be misleading." Consumers regard it as such because it is, without a doubt, misleading. Food that has been irradiated has been treated with radiation. It has not been pasteurized.

The issue here is not a matter of whether irradiation is safe, as the FDA already allows it. It is a matter of marketing. Food manufacturers know that many consumers balk at the thought of their food being subjected to radiation treatments, so they buy nonirradiated products instead. With health warnings about certain types of ingredients and recent food contamination incidents fresh in their minds, many people are being far more careful about knowing what is in their foods. And they have a right to know.

The FDA's job is to make sure our food supply is safe. The agency has no business trying to improve the market for irradiated food, nor should it get into the habit of denying consumers information about the foods that they purchase.