Consumers' Right-to-Know "Pasteurized" by Congress

From Food Irradiation Alert - Public Citizen

The new federal Farm Bill contains several measures that take a step backwards when it comes to consumers' right to know what they're eating.

With Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) leading the charge, the food irradiation industry took major steps toward the further proliferation of irradiated food. Among other measures, the U.S. Department of Agriculture can no longer prohibit the purchase of irradiated food for its nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program.

The Farm Bill, which has been roundly criticized in newspapers nationwide, as well as by environmental groups and family farmers, was largely shaped by big agribusiness. In return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to key members of Congress, large agriculture corporations were rewarded with legislative changes that serve their interests - not those of Americans.

Regarding food irradiation labeling, the Farm Bill redefines the word "pasturization" to include other "treatments" including exposing food to enormous doses of ionizing radiation - the equivalent of up to 1 billion chest x-rays.

The bill also creates a new procedure to allow companies wishing to use alternative terms on product packaging. Irradiated foods will still need to display the "radura" - the international symbol for irradiation - and carry the disclosure "Treated by Irradiation" or "Treated with Radiation." But a company can add the following: "This product has been electronically pasteurized for your safety."

What makes this change even more alarming is that industry requests are not required to be published for public review or comment.

In another measure specifically addressing the issue of labeling, the Farm Bill directs the federal government to revisit the issue of label requirements for irradiated foods. It calls for another round of proposed regulations with public notification and input - despite the fact that 97 percent of Americans responding to the last round of public input told the government that they want the current labeling regulations maintained. The industry's ultimate goal is to eliminate the radura and the word "irradiation" from the requirements.

Additionally, the Farm Bill contains another blatant attempt to shut out the public by creating a "stealth" procedure. Companies that want to use alternative terms during the period that the new labeling regulations are being considered can ask the government to be permitted to use those terms with no public notice requirement or opportunity for public comment.

The Farm Bill also directs the USDA to no longer ban the purchase of food "treated" with approved safety technologies - including irradiation - for the USDA's various nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program. However, an additional provision states that the government should "continue to make commodity purchases, taking into consideration the acceptability by recipients of products purchased and considering the relative costs of products available for purchase." Irradiated foods do cost more, and the public already expressed its outrage over the introduction of irradiated food in the National School Lunch Program when the USDA tried to do it last year. Translation: the USDA does have justification to avoid buying irradiated food for its nutrition programs.

During the Farm Bill process, Public Citizen was successful in stopping an attempt by the food irradiation industry to eliminate irradiation from being classified as a food additive. If the attempt had been successful, it would have made it far easier for more irradiated foods to be legalized by the FDA without proper testing.

Sen. Harkin was behind all of the food irradiation provisions. No surprise there. Since 1999, Harkin has accepted $175,591 in campaign contributions from agribusiness interests - including $1000 from Gene Ray, president of Titan Corporation, a defense contractor-turned-irradiation company. Titan's subsidiary SureBeam has been a high-profile leader in attempting to gut the current labeling requirement for irradiated food.

On the labeling measures, Harkin had Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) as a co-conspirator. Rep. Tauzin has accepted $86,225 in campaign contributions from agribusiness during the same period.

Public Citizen is working to repair the damage done by the Farm Bill. Activists are being urged to tell their senators and representatives that this legislation has undermined consumer's right-to-know. Furthermore, consumers are being urged to continue to register their comments to the FDA on the labeling issue, and to the USDA on the National School Lunch Program.

For more info. contact Public Citizen at (202) 454-5131 or via www.citizen.org/cmep