Commission to issue directives on food irradiation

The European Commission is to push ahead with moves to allow greater irradiation of foods, which it insists will improve food safety. Two new directives are to be announced later this month despite widespread consumer resistance and some concerns about the effects of the technique.

A conciliation process between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament has finalised its terms, though a demand by MEPs for an "EU-wide validation procedure" to be in place within three years (to ensure effective monitoring of food irradiation use) is the one outstanding issue. The Commission favours verification processes to be in place "as soon as possible".

The directives outline best practices, labelling provisions and how irradiation plants should operate. They are to go before the Council on Tuesday and then return to the parliament for formal adoption. The regulations are set to become operational within 18 months.

Food irradiation regulations in Europe have been largely ineffective because a significant amount of produce imported into the EU - notably spices, vegetables and fruits - is irradiated and mostly sold without labels.

A significant amount of produce emanating from within the EU is also irradiated, it is widely believed. Studies by the Trading Standards Office in Britain found in random tests of herbs, spices and soft fruit that one in 10 samples may have been irradiated and not labelled.

Irradiation is usually done using low dose gamma rays, similar to those used in hospitals to sterilise equipment. It is used under licence not only to "clean" produce but to preserve and inhibit growth of microbes and kill insects. It is usually labelled only where the irradiated ingredient is "a component part", as in a processed food product.

The EU is following the US, which, faced with sharp increases in of E. coli 0157 and salmonella cases permitted greater use of irradiation. The US Food and Drugs Administration last year approved its use on red meat, though it was already permitted on poultry, pork, fruits and vegetables.

In Ireland, a Food Safety Advisory Board (which preceded the Food Safety Authority of Ireland) report accepted it was a technique which, if properly done, did not pose a risk. Consumer resistance in Europe, however, has been particularly strong. In Ireland, research indicates most opposition centres around aesthetics and the generation of off-flavours, which can occur with high fat foods including red meat.

Green MEP Ms Nuala Ahern, said there was justification for concern beyond this. Much of the research was dated, including significant amounts going back to the 1960s. There were indications that irradiation could stimulate the production of aflatoxins, which are carcinogens, she said.

"Too much power is vested in the Commission's own standing committee on foodstuffs on this issue. This is being forced through. The concerns of the EP committee on environment, public health and consumer protection must be taken on board."

Irradiation was being promoted as a safe use of nuclear technology, she said. But it raised the possibility that foods would be considered safe when they might not be.