Does eating irradiated food present health risks?
No. Scientists from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, and universities reviewed several hundred studies on the effects of food irradiation before determining its safety. Scientific committees in Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the World Health Organization also have endorsed irradiation. Food irradiation has been approved in 37 countries for more than 40 products. At no time does radioactive material enter the food, and food is not radioactive after treatment. Does irradiation destroy all bacteria, resulting in a sterile product? No. Irradiation pasteurizes food by using energy, just as milk is pasteurized by using heat. In fact, some groups refer to irradiation as “electronic pasteurization.” The level of irradiation used will destroy most harmful bacteria. Surviving bacteria could start to multiply if irradiated food was mishandled–if it was stored at an appropriate temperature, for instance. As
