A few years ago I heard of a process where perishable foods such as milk and lettuce were bombarded with radiation to dramatically increase their shelf life. This process also killed off bacteria and vermin. Foreign countries seemed to employ this with positive results. There was talk of using this process in the U.S., with the only proviso being that the food in question be specially labeled. However, try as I might, I cannot find any radiation-treated food in my local grocery store–not that I’m eager to try it. How is food treated with radiation? Is it safe? What has happened to the process in the U.S. since the news stories first came out? –Thomas Cotrel, Burbank, California
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Depending on whom you talk to, food irradiation is yet another plot to poison the food supply for profit or the victim of antinuclear hysteria. The worst fears are certainly exaggerated. Despite what many people think, the process does not make food radioactive. Pallets of strawberries, chickens, or other foods are exposed to a radioactive source, usually cobalt, for a specified number of minutes inside a shielded room. The radiation kills, or at least is supposed to kill, deadly microorganisms such as salmonella while leaving the food itself more or less intact.
More’s the pity, say irradiation advocates. A huge percentage of world food production, as high as 50 percent in developing countries in warm climates, spoils before it can be eaten, and food poisoning is still fairly common in the U.S. and other countries. Irradiation would reduce both these problems. Maybe 20 years from now it’ll be as commonplace as fluoridation. Then again, 20 years ago they thought nuclear power would make electricity cheap.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Illustration/Slug Signorino.
