Fw: [RADFOOD] Good News! Europe Displays Caution

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----- Original Message -----

From: " Mikhail " <mmikhail@...>

<RADFOOD@...>

Sent: Monday, March 10, 2003 2:05 PM

Subject: [RADFOOD] Good News! Europe Displays Caution

> GOOD NEWS! EUROPE CONTINUES TO DISPLAY CAUTION

> Europe's most prestigious advisory committee reversed its position over

> the safety of eating irradiated foods, citing the need for more

> research. The Scientific Committee on Food refused to endorse an

> increase of the current maximum irradiation dose limit of 10 kGy.

> Public Citizen applauds the decision. Check out the text of the news

> release below.

>

>

> Scientific Committee on Food Pulls U-Turn Over Safety of Irradiated

> Food

>

> Consumer Groups Celebrate Reversed Position, Reiterate Need for More

> Research

>

> LONDON - Europe's most prestigious advisory committee - the

> Scientific Committee on Food - has reversed its position over the safety

> of eating irradiated foods.

>

> The Food Irradiation Campaign welcomed the SCF statement issued

> yesterday which explained that the SCF cannot endorse moves to allow the

> irradiation of all foods above the current maximum irradiation dose

> limit of 10kGy. It said it could not support this move because not

> enough research has been done to assess the safety of eating foods

> irradiated at doses above this level.

>

> The SCF statement is crucial as it comes shortly before a

> meeting in Tanzania of Codex -- the international food-standards setting

> body -- to decide whether the international standard governing food

> irradiation should be changed to allow any food to be irradiated above

> 10kGy. At the forefront in pushing for this weakening of the

> international food irradiation standard is the United States. However,

> the European Commission, speaking on behalf of the EU member states, has

> been resisting this move. The strong statement by the SCF serves to

> reinforce the EC position.

>

> This latest statement by the SCF is in marked contrast to their comment

> in July last year, when they concluded that there was inadequate

> evidence of hazard from eating irradiated food and that such foods could

> be considered safe. (1)

>

> The SCF's statement in July was subsequently challenged in a

> remarkable open letter by EU-funded research scientists who had

> presented evidence of toxic compounds in irradiated fat-containing

> foods. The scientists repeated their concerns and emphasised that the

> chemicals formed in irradiated food 'present cytotoxic and genotoxic

> effects in cultured human cells, promote colon carcinogenesis in rats

> and accumulate in adipose tissues of rats fed with these compounds.'

> (2)

>

> 1 www.iaea.org/programmes/rifa/icgfi/documents/summary-press.pdf

> 2 report SCF/CS/NF/IRR/26 ADD 3 Final, 3 July 2002

> http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out135_en.pdf

>

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