Fw: (Radfood-list) Statement on Ruling of Irrad. ImportedProduce/Supermarket Action Alert!

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

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

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Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2002 3:00 PM

Subject: (Radfood-list) Statement on Ruling of Irrad.

ImportedProduce/Supermarket Action Alert!

***Apologies for cross posting***

***Please circulate widely***

****STATEMENT ON USDA APPROVAL OF THE IMPORTATION OF IRRADIATED FRUITS AND

VEGETABLES****

USDA Rule on Irradiated Produce is Huge Loss for Consumers, U.S. Farmers

Statement of Wenonah Hauter, Director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass

Energy and Environment Program

Public Citizen is extremely disappointed that the Bush administration has

decided to approve a rule that will permit the import of irradiated fruits

and vegetables. The rule, which was issued by the Animal Plant Health

Inspection Service (APHIS) and takes effect today, will benefit large food

producers, processors and distributors at the expense of small farmers. It

also will encourage the proliferation of irradiated food, which has not yet

been proven safe for human consumption in the long term. With the adoption

of this rule, APHIS, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),

is continuing its transformation from an agency that was created to protect

American agriculture and consumers from foreign pests and diseases into an

agency that promotes trade.

We, along with thousands of other consumers, opposed these regulations from

the time they were originally proposed during the Clinton administration

because of their effects on food, farmers and health. Until the irradiation

of food is shown to be safe, this technology should not be used to " treat "

imported fruits and vegetables or any other food, for that matter. APHIS

acknowledged receiving thousands of comments from citizens who raised safety

concerns, but the agency apparently chose to ignore them.

We oppose the rule for the following reasons:

-- It is unlikely that APHIS will have enough staff at U.S. ports to track

imported irradiated fruits and vegetables so that they can be adequately

labeled. With the agency's rejection of mechanical indicators to identify

containers transporting irradiated fruits and vegetables, tracking

irradiated fruits and vegetables will be an added burden to an already

understaffed workforce. If we don't know it's been irradiated when it

arrives, we can't label it, and consumers will not know what they are

eating.

-- While the rule sets up a regime for inspection of foreign-based

irradiation facilities, we do not believe it is adequate. It is unclear

whether it will be a regular inspection process or a sporadic one, as we

have seen for the USDA inspection of foreign meat plants that are deemed

" equivalent " to domestic plants.

-- Virtually all types of food including fruits and vegetables suffer some

level of nutrient destruction and loss of quality when irradiated. In many

cases, even small doses can result in significant loss of vitamins and other

nutrients, and a significant decline in food quality. Further, food loses

nutrients as it ages. We can expect the irradiated produce to have therefore

fewer nutrients because irradiation kills the bacteria that cause food to

rot and greatly extends shelf life.

-- The government has not guaranteed that for those imported fruits and

vegetables that will be irradiated on U.S. soil, invasive pests won't reach

our shores. The new rule will allow non-irradiated products to be imported

into 35 states, where the USDA asserts that " fruit flies would not survive

the winter. " However, the USDA made this statement without providing any

supporting evidence. In a report on invasive species released today by the

Government Accounting Office, an APHIS official is quoted as saying that

there is a " general lack of information " about the success of different

measures to prevent the importation of invasive species, short of an

outright ban on products from infested areas.

Extensive evidence suggests that cold and heat treatment of perishables -

not the use of radiation - is the least expensive technique to control pests

in imports. Numerous studies have shown that cold and heat treatments, which

are already in use, can meet the mandated control level for insect control,

especially when combined with basic sanitation methods.

Creating more opportunities for multinational companies to import " fresh "

fruits and vegetables from farther-flung places will only serve to put

small-scale American farmers - many of them single-family operations - at a

further disadvantage. Small-scale farmers already suffering from the

fallout of " free trade " agreements such as NAFTA don't need more imports,

which have resulted in the dumping of lower-priced fruits and vegetables

onto American markets. This rule represents yet another blow to small fruit

and vegetable producers in this country.

****ACTION ALERT! WRITE TO NEW SUPERMARKETS SELLING IRRADIATED MEAT!****

Supermarket chains, frightened of the bad publicity surrounding recent meat

recalls, are choosing to carry irradiated meat. We need to tell these

supermarkets that consumers don't want irradiated meat! They cannot subject

their customers to this questionable technology just to let meat producers

use a quick-fix to mask their sloppy practices!

Check out the Who, What, Where section on our website

http://www.citizen.org/cmep/foodsafety/food_irrad/articles.cfm?ID=5424 to

find out what supermarkets in YOUR neighborhood are selling irradiated food,

and use the sample letter below to let them know how you feel!

Keep irradiated fruits and vegetables out of your store!

Yesterday, the importation of irradiated fruits and vegetables was approved,

and there may be a push for supermarkets currently carrying irradiated meat

to expand to fruits and vegetables. Be sure to mention in your letter or

comments that you do NOT want your supermarket to carry irradiated fruits

and vegetables in the future!

Write to these supermarkets! (sample letter below)

Below you'll find contact information for the latest supermarkets to carry

irradiated meat, as well as a sample letter. If you have one of these

stores in your neighborhood, write a letter to the company, call their

customer service representatives, fill out comment cards, and speak with

your store manager to let them know that you do not want irradiated food!

Alert your community!

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper to share the rest of the

story about irradiation. Sample talking points for a letter are below.

*************************STATES***************************

Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota,

Wisconsin

Hy-Vee Corporate Headquarters

Ron Pearson

5820 Westown Parkway

West Des Moines, IA 50266

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont

Price Chopper

c/o Golub Corp.

Neil Golub

President

501 Duanesburg Rd.

Schenectady, NY 12306

Tel: 518-355-5000

Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont

Hannaford Bros. Co. (operates under the names Shop 'n Save and Hannaford

Food and Drug Superstores)

Hodge

President/CEO

P.O. Box 1000

Portland, ME 04104

207-883-2911

Virginia

Farm Fresh

Ron Dennis,

President/COO

PO Box 2250

Virginia Beach, VA 23450-2250

Direct Tel: 757-306-7006

Consumer Hotline: 800-280-6726

New York - New York City area

D'Agostino Supermarkets

D'Agostino, Jr.

President

1385 Boston Post Road

Larchmont, NY 10538-3904

Tel: 914-833-4000

Fax: 914-833-4060

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

Pathmark Stores, Inc.

Jim

President

200 Milik St.

et, NJ 07008

Direct Tel: 732-499-3000 ext. 3281

Wegmans Food Markets

Mr. Wegman

President

1500 Ave.

PO Box 30844

Rochester, NY 14603-0844

Consumer hotline: 1-800-WEGMANS

Pennsylvania

Clemens Family Markets

Alan Tempest

Marketing Director

One Towamencin Corporate Center

1555 Bustard Rd.

Kulpsville, PA 19443

215-361-9000 ext. 2009

North Carolina

Lowes Foods

Curtis Oldenkamp

President

P.O. Box 24908

Winston-Salem, NC 27114

Consumer hotline: 800-311-2117

336-659-0180 to reach CEO Curtis Oldenkamp

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama

Publix Super Markets (beginning in January 2003)

H. , Jr.

President

P.O. Box 407

Lakeland, FL 33802-0407

Consumer hotline: 863-688-1188 Extension 5285 will reach CEO H.

, Jr.

NOTE: Publix Super Markets plans to sell ground beef and chicken that have

been irradiated with the radioactive material Cobalt 60. If you are writing

about Publix, please insert the following paragraph in your letter to the

company and in your letter to the editor:

" Irradiation facilities put the public and workers in danger, and past

accidents have cost taxpayers millions of dollars! Since the 1960s, dozens

of accidents have been reported at irradiation facilities. For example,

radioactive water has been flushed into the public sewer system, radiation

has leaked, facilities have caught fire, equipment has malfunctioned, and

workers have been injured or lost their lives. "

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, North

Carolina, Ohio,

South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia

Winn-Dixie Supermarkets

Al Rowland

President

5050 Edgewood Court

ville, FL 32254-3699

Tel: 904-783-5000

*****************************SAMPLE LETTER*************************

<Contact Name>

<Address>

Dear <Contact Name>,

I am writing to urge you to stop carrying irradiated meat, and not to carry

other irradiated products in the future. As your customer, I demand and

deserve fresh, wholesome, safe food that has been grown and processed in

clean environments. I do not want my family or my community to be " guinea

pigs " for this controversial technology.

Consumers do not want to eat food that has been exposed to high doses of

ionizing radiation, as previous test marketing efforts have shown. In 2001,

citing poor sales and low consumer interest, more than 80 grocery stores and

meat markets in Florida, California, and Wisconsin pulled irradiated beef

products from their shelves.

Irradiated food has not been proven safe to eat! It not only degrades the

nutritional content of food, but research has revealed a wide range of

health problems in animals that ate irradiated food including premature

death, fatal internal bleeding, cancer, reproductive problems, genetic

damage, organ malfunctions and nutritional deficiencies.

Furthermore, I adamantly oppose the importation of irradiated fruits and

vegetables, and implore you NOT to carry irradiated produce in the future.

Imported irradiated fruits and vegetables are both nutritionally deficient

and grown in questionable environments. In addition, a number of countries

that export fruits and vegetables to the US do not have any maximum dosage

level for irradiated foods. Therefore, you may end up selling food that is

essentially illegal, since it has been irradiated up to 5 times the US legal

limit.

If you truly care about the community and aspires to provide quality food,

then you should use your chain's buying power to pressure your suppliers to

adopt safe, sustainable production practices. I urge you to remove

irradiated meat from your stores and keep irradiated produce out of them.

Sincerely,

<Your Name & Address>

***********************LETTER TO THE EDITOR - MAJOR

POINTS***********************

-- Irradiation exposes food to a dose of ionizing radiation equivalent to

millions of chest x-rays.

-- Irradiation depletes vitamins and nutrients.

-- Irradiation creates new chemicals in the food called unique radiolytic

products, including chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer and birth

defects.

-- The FDA did not follow its own testing protocols when approving

irradiation.

-- To date there have been no long-term toxicological studies done on the

safety of consuming irradiated meat.

-- Whether ionizing radiation comes from radioactive materials or " e-beams, "

its effect on food is the same; the only difference is how the radiation is

produced.

-- The real purpose of irradiation is to mask filthy conditions in

slaughterhouses and food processing plants that operate at ever-increasing

speeds.

-- Although irradiation can kill most bacteria in food, it does nothing to

remove the carriers of this bacteria - feces and other contaminants that

often soil meat.

-- The problem often begins with the inhumane, unhealthy, and

environmentally-damaging conditions at large factory-style farms

-- Meat should be cleaned up at the source, not zapped at the end of the

line.

-- As of October 23, 2002 the USDA will permit the importation of irradiated

fruits and vegetables.

-- Imported irradiated fruits and vegetables are both nutritionally

deficient and grown in questionable environments.

-- A number of countries that export fruits and vegetables to the US do not

have any maximum dosage level for irradiated foods. Therefore, you may end

up buying food that is essentially illegal, since it has been irradiated up

to 5 times the US legal limit.