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IRRADIATED PORK
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What is irradiated pork? Irradiated pork is pork that has been subjected to energy waves.
Irradiation is also known as cold pasteurization and is used to provide a safer
product by eliminating or reducing to an acceptable level harmful pathogens such
as Escherichia coli and Salmonella, as well as Trichinella spiralis.
How does the irradiation process work? Products are passed through an enclosed
irradiation chamber where they are exposed to one of the three types of ionizing
energy: gamma rays, machine-generated electrons or x-rays. The ionizing energy
generates a beam of electrons that breaks DNA chains, allowing amount of
bacteria, yeast, molds and parasites to be reduced.
What type of pork is irradiated? While practice is limited, in 1986 the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety
and Inspection Service (FSIS) approved the use of irradiation on fresh or previously
frozen pork. It has been an approved process since that time.
Should irradiated pork be handled differently then traditional pork? No, since
irradiation is a "cold process" it does not significantly increase the temperature of
treated foods. Thus, irradiated products should be shipped, stored and eaten in the
same manner as traditional pork.
Is irradiated pork harmful for you? Irradiated pork products are completely safe and
wholesome and their nutritional value remains essentially unaltered. With
irradiation, energy simply passes through food, but unlike chemical treatments,
irradiation leaves no residue. The product is never touched by the source of energy
therefore no radioactive waste is produced.
Why is irradiated pork being brought to the market? Irradiated pork holds great
promise in the worldwide health problem of controlling food-borne diseases.
Irradiation extends the shelf life of pork products and creates a safer product without
compromising the quality of the raw product.
How is irradiated pork identified? In the U.S., the FDA must approve the use of any
irradiation process for foods. They require that all irradiated foods must bear the
"radura" symbol (pictured) on the product label. This symbol signifies that the
product has been subjected to irradiation treatment. The product label must also
state that the product has been "treated by ionizing radiation" or "by irradiation."
Radura Symbol
How accepting of irradiated pork are consumers? According to the FMI Shopping for
Health 2001 study, when consumers were asked if they would "buy a food that has
been irradiated to kill germs and keep it safer?", the following answers were given:
23%
very likely
34%
somewhat likely
not very likely
not at all likely
15%
19%
NATIONAL PORK BOARD • PO Box 9114 • Des Moines, IA 50306 • 515 223 2600 • FAX 515 223 2646 • E-MAIL [email protected] • www.porkboard.org
Despite caution among some consumers, more than half of the respondents of a
June 1995 Kansas State University survey said they would be willing to pay more
for irradiated meat. Forty-two percent would pay 3 to 4 cents more a pound while
11 percent said they would pay 5 cents or more a pound.
What other products are irradiated? Irradiation is currently used on many foods such as
fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, and other processed foods. Irradiation is also
used to sterilize medical supplies such as surgical gloves, destroy bacteria in makeup, and used to purify wool.
For more information:
http://www.porkscience.org/documents/Other/qsirradiation.pdf
http://www.acsh.org/publications/booklets/irradiated.html
http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/edu.htm
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/QA/pubs
©2002 National Pork Board, Des Moines, IA USA