CONCERN ABOUT FOOD SAFETY ON ANNIVERSARY OF FUKUSHIMA

March 11, 2012 is the anniversary of last year's Japanese earthquake, Tsunami and nuclear disaster. Japan and the world are remembering this horrible tragedy - the lives lost ( an estimated 15,848 dead and 3,305 missing), numerous families, businesses and farms destroyed, and a nightmare which still haunts millions of people.

This awful event has also left many people in Japan still worried about how their health and the health of their children has been affected by the high levels of radiation leaked from the TEPCO operated Daichii-Fukushima nuclear power plant, not just through environmental exposure, but indirectly, through radiation-contaminated food and water. Many feel they were not adequately protected or informed - and still aren't.

I started blogging the issue already on March 15 - before there was any mention of food contamination. Today, in memory of the event, I glanced back at my 30 or so posts on radiation in food in Japan and in food exported from Japan. Sadly, my predictions seem to have been borne out.

The problem is not over. Some of the radionuclides continue to exist in soil, air, and water even hundreds of Km from Daichii. Japanese consumers continue to be concerned. People in other countries are also worried, particularly those living close to nuclear power plants.

But remember - eating a meal or even a few meals with high levels of radionuclides is not likely to cause lasting damage to your health. So when should you worry? I can't provide hard data. What I can do is pass on what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says will determine if this will be an an issue for you:

• the percentage of radiation contaminated foods in a your diet
• how much of the food you usually eat
• the length of time that you are eating such contaminated food (days, weeks or months)
• how vulnerable you are (for instance, infants and children and pregnant women are at special risk).

To your good health,

TSF

IS IRRADIATED FOOD DANGEROUS?

I thought I would do a quick post on irradiation of food. I notice that a lot of blog readers continue to worry about it - and, are confused.

No, irradiation does not have anything to do with "radiation" or nuclear contamination of food (that is, radionuclides like Iodine-131 (I-131), Cesium-134 (Cs-134) and Cesium-137 (Cs-137) in food). Irradiation, or "ionizing radiation," is a process that briefly bombards food with high-frequency energy. The purpose is to damage the DNA of insects, bacteria or parasites in or on the food.

Let's take irradiation of produce as an example, since it is coming into wider use. If you wash that fruit or vegetable, you may only get rid of 90 to 95 percent of any bacteria on it. If you irradiate it, you are likely to inactivate or kill some 95 to 99 percent.

At medium-dose levels irradiation therefore extends the shelf life of that fruit or vegetable by preventing sprouting and delaying ripening (which is important in our factory food system). You can also argue, that it makes food safer to eat in terms of not giving you food poisoning. This could be particularly important for super-vulnerable people such as those in nursing homes.

So does the process of irradiation do something else to our food that could damage our health over the longer term? Those who support it (which includes the USFDA, USDA, WHO, FAO, and many other key U.S. and international organizations) will tell you that you shouldn't worry: if correctly done, food irradiation is no more risky than canning or pasteurization. But those opposed to it, will tell you that some research has shown that animals who consistently ate irradiated food ended up with some pretty horrible health problems.

So where does the truth lie? I guess one day, we'll find out. In the meantime, your tastebuds may make the decision for you. To people who are sensitive to taste, the texture and flavor of an irradiated item - such as lettuce - is simply, well, yucky. And, if you are worried, and in reasonably good health, why not avoid it?

To your good health,

TSF