Irradiation. The very word is a bit scary, conjuring up images of
Hiroshima and Chemobyl, x-rays and cancer. Despite its widespread
medical uses, irradiation is inherently hazardous and therefore a source
of great concern.
For most consumers, irradiation of foods has been an issue of
theoretical, not practical, significance. But that s about to change.,
The nuclear industry and segments of the food industry, with assi/"
tance from government agencies, recently gained permission to pre-
serve a wide variety of foods with irradiation. So while right now
a small part of your dinner might have been bombarded with gamma
rays, in the next few years hundreds of foods may be treated.
Zealous proponents paint an attractive picture of the glories of ir-
radiation: more abundant food supplies, reduced use of dangerous
pesticides, fewer hungry people, lower prices. Equally zealous oppo-
nents with health and environmental concerns paint a far grimmer
picture: dangerous new chemicals in food, greater cancer risk, rot-
ten food magically made "fresh."
While the "experts" bandy about such terms as kiloGrays, cobalt
60, and radappertization, the average consumer is left more con-
fused than enlightened. Tony Webb and Tim Lang, of the London
(England) Food Commission, and Kathleen Tucker, of the Washington,
DC-based Health and Energy Institute (both non-profit org~niza-
tions), have written this book for concerned citizens who want to
understand both sides of the argument better.
The irradiation industry contends that "hundreds of studies" prove
irradiation to be a safe and beneficial process. The closer one gets
to those studies, though, the less persuasive they look. The Food
and Drug Administration, which has approved irradiation of many
foods, has faulted a number of the studies because they were poorly
designed or performed by untrustworthy laboratories. The agency
發表於2024-09-09
Food Irradiation: Who Wants It? 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載
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Food Irradiation: Who Wants It? 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載