> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "HSI Research Team" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 4:11 PM
> Subject: Radiation Nation
>
>
> > RADIATION NATION
> >
> > Health Sciences Institute e-Alert
> >
> > February 10, 2003
> >
> > **************************************************************
> >
> > Dear Reader,
> >
> > After sending you the e-Alert last week about irradiated beef
> > ("Don't Beam Me Up" 2/4/03), I came across a news item
> > announcing that a popular supermarket chain began selling
> > irradiated ground beef on February 2nd in six mid-Atlantic
> > states, including Maryland, where I live. These stores are
> > among some 4,000 nationwide that currently sell irradiated
> > beef.
> >
> > This alone would be unsettling enough. But in response to
> > that e-Alert, I received a reply from HSI Panelist Jon Barron
> > with additional information about the irradiation process
> > that I guarantee will make you think twice the next time you
> > stop off at your grocery to buy meat products.
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > Who let the nutrients out?
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > To briefly recap: Irradiation is a process by which a food
> > product is exposed to extremely high doses of radiation to
> > kill bacteria, parasites and funguses that may cause spoilage
> > or disease. And if that were all irradiation did, that would
> > be fine. But as we'll see, there's much more to it than that.
> >
> > Jon begins by describing the process in more detail: "Food is
> > exposed to 'hard' irradiation, usually gamma rays from a
> > source like cobalt-80, in doses of 100,000 to 3,000,000 rads.
> > To give you a sense of how high a dose this is, understand
> > that a dose of just 10,000 rads will totally destroy any
> > living tissue."
> >
> > As HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., made clear last week, an
> > abundance of nutrients are also eliminated by this process.
> > Jon agrees, and says, "as much as 70% of the Vitamin A, B1
> > and B2 in irradiated milk is destroyed, and about 30% of
> > Vitamin C." Unfortunately, irradiation also accelerates the
> > growth of aspergillus mold, "which produces the most potent
> > natural carcinogens known to man, called aflatoxins."
> >
> > I wish I could say that's the worst of it - but we're just
> > getting started.
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > A radiotoxin by any other name...
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Processing food with the extremely high levels of gamma rays
> > described above results in the creation of some very
> > dangerous molecules, about which Jon gives this interesting
> > but frightening background: "They were originally
> > called 'radiotoxins' by Russian researchers. Since that word
> > would be frightening to American consumers, the FDA came up
> > with a couple of 'softer' terms. They call them 'known
> > radiolytic products' to describe the molecules that are
> > created such as formaldehyde and benzene (known carcinogens),
> > and as for those chemical molecules created by irradiation
> > and that have never before been seen by man, the FDA came up
> > with the equally soft 'unique radiolytic products.'"
> >
> > Long before the FDA started assigning more palatable terms
> > for these very unappetizing results, it had already reviewed
> > more than 400 studies about the irradiation process. But Jon
> > tells us where that review process fell woefully short: "They
> > accepted 226 studies for further review. They then narrowed
> > their criteria and selected only 69 for in-depth review. Of
> > these, the FDA itself reported that 32 of the 69 showed
> > adverse effects, and 37 showed safety problems. Then without
> > explanation, they eliminated all but 5 of the 69 (including
> > every negative study) and said they would base their decision
> > on those 5 alone.
> >
> > "In the FDA's final report approving food radiation, they
> > wrote that when up to 35% of the lab-animal diet was
> > radiated, feeding studies had to be terminated because of
> > premature mortality or morbidity." And in one test at the
> > Medical College of Virginia, rats fed irradiated beef "died
> > of hemorrhagic syndrome in 34 days."
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > Running from the radura
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > According to Jon, "Foods already approved for irradiation
> > include: fruits, vegetables, wheat, flour, herbs, spices,
> > nuts, seeds, peas, pork, and chicken." And to that we can add
> > ground beef - now in a supermarket in my neighborhood, and
> > very likely in yours as well.
> >
> > If you don't like the idea of irradiated food (and at this
> > point I can't imagine how anyone possibly could), you can
> > look for a symbol called the "radura" which is required on
> > the packaging of irradiated foods. The radura is a green
> > circle (broken into four segments at the top of the circle),
> > enclosing a flower image represented by a large green dot
> > with two petals below the dot.
> >
> > But even if you avoid products marked with the radura, you're
> > still not in the clear. As Jon explains, "The FDA requires a
> > label stating a food has been radiated if, and only if, it
> > was radiated as a 'whole food' and then is sold unchanged.
> > But, if you process it in any way, if you add any other
> > ingredients to it, it no longer requires a label stating that
> > it (or any of its ingredients) were irradiated. To put it
> > simply, an irradiated orange would require a label;
> > irradiated orange juice would not."
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > An uncomfortable level of comfort
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > But even if people see the radura on a package of ground
> > beef, a bag of Brazil nuts, or a sticker on an apple - do
> > they know what its significance is? And worse, do they have
> > any idea of the risks? By and large, my guess is "no." In a
> > report from Reuters last December, a survey conducted by the
> > National Cattlemen's Beef Association found that almost half
> > of Americans say they would feel comfortable purchasing
> > irradiated meat. This response was 10 percent higher than it
> > had been to the same question on a similar nationwide survey
> > earlier in the year.
> >
> > In other words, people are apparently becoming comfortable
> > with the idea of irradiated food. And it seems they'll have
> > ample opportunity to buy it. SureBeam Corporation (the
> > largest provider of irradiation technology in the U.S.) plans
> > to process more than 300 million pounds of beef this year.
> > Last year they processed only 15 million pounds.
> >
> > Feel free to forward this e-Alert to friends and relatives.
> > Help us spread the word that this idea, whose time has
> > apparently come, is not a good idea, although it looks like
> > it's probably here to stay. So it may be the best that we can
> > do to avoid irradiated foods by looking for the odd green
> > flower.
> >
> > My thanks to Jon Barron for his exhaustive profile of this
> > subject. Jon has researched and written extensively about
> > alternative medicine, nutrition, and herbal remedies for
> > almost thirty years. For more information about Jon and his
> > work, visit his web site at jonbarron.com.
> >

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