Europe remains cautious on use of irradiation

Europe continues to lag behind in the use of irradiation, with only 10 member states approving facilities to process foods, according to the latest European Commission report released yesterday. While food irradiation is slowly gaining consumer acceptance in the US and several other countries, the technology has been slow to get support within many parts of Europe. European consumer concerns have led to a general reluctance from governments to approve irradiation facilities within their borders. Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and the UK each have one approved food irradiation facility, while France has six, and Germany four. Spain, the Netherlands, and Poland have two facilities each, according to the report. In 2005 seventeen member states reported checks on foods placed on the market, according to the latest Commission report on the issue. Regulators in those countries checked 7,011 food samples and found about 4 per cent of those on the market had been illegally irradiated or were not properly labelled. Foods and ingredients from Asia accounted for most of the non-compliant samples, the Commission reported. Only six of the 287 samples found to be irradiated complied with EU regulation. Under EU regulations member states have to report annually on the results of checks carried out in irradiation facilities. The information must include the categories and quantities of products treated and the dose administered. "Differences between member states regarding the results of controls can partly be explained by the choice of samples and the performance of the analytical methods used,"​ the Commission noted. The process exposes foods to ionizing radiation that kills insects, moulds and bacterium. The technology, which can kill up to 99 per cent of pathogens, is seen by the industry as a means of ensuring food safety and extending shelf life. The treatment may also be applied to prevent the germination and sprouting of potatoes, onions and garlic, and for delaying the ripening and ageing of fruit and vegetables. However public concerns over the health effects of the technology has meant global food companies have had to deal with a confusing thicket of legislation and restrictions when making and marketing their products. European anti-irradiation organisations have launched a campaign working to maintain the freeze on further irradiation approvals and to challenge existing approvals to reduce the amount of irradiated food in Europe. One such action group is The French Collective Against Food Irradiation, a coalition of food, environment, anti-nuclear and other consumer organisations. The French collective is currently writing a report on the global food irradiation situation and plans to publish it later this year. The report will be used to try to reinvigorate the debate on food irradiation in France and Europe, Food & Water Watch stated. In France companies are allowed to irradiate frozen herbs, garlic, shallots, casein, egg whites, frozen shrimp, poultry, frozen frogs legs and additional foods. Due to the public concerns, EU regulators are monitoring the situation and turning up undeclared irradiation in foods, serving to make the public even more suspicious about the technology. For example both the UK and Ireland's governments have reported finding illegally irradiated food products in 2006.