Are irradiated foods safe to eat?
Yes. The safety of food irradiation has been thoroughly studied and comprehensively evaluated for over 50 years, both in the United States and elsewhere. No food technology has ever been as extensively studied and evaluated with respect to safety as has food irradiation. The studies involved many animal feeding tests including multigeneration tests in animals, e.g., rats, mice, dogs and monkeys, to determine if any changes in growth, blood chemistry, histopathology or reproduction occurred that might be attributable to consumption of different types of irradiated foods as part of their daily diets. Data from these studies were systematically evaluated by panels of experts that included toxicologists, nutritionists, microbiologists, radiation chemists and radiobiologists, convened repeatedly by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization (WHO) in 1964, 1969, 1976, 1980 and 1997, as data becam
Yes. Just as pasteurization makes milk safer, irradiation makes meat and poultry safer by reducing the numbers of harmful bacteria and parasites. Irradiation is an important food safety tool in fighting foodborne illness. FDA and other public health agencies worldwide have evaluated the safety of irradiation over the last 50 years and found it to be safe. Irradiation has been endorsed by the American Medical Association and the United Nations’ World Health Organization. In 37 countries, more than 40 food products are irradiated. In some European countries, irradiation has been in use for decades. The sources and amounts of energy that can be applied to foods have been approved by the FDA and are not strong enough to cause food to become radioactive. Scientific studies show that food irradiation does not significantly change the nutrient content, flavor, or texture of food. What foods are irradiated? Fresh meat and poultry including whole or cut up birds, skinless poultry, pork chops, r
