Irradiation of foodstuffs: ECC Report (and debate)

When the report of the European Communities Committee on the Irradiation of foodstuffs was introduced it was explained that this subject had already been debated and the government had been able to explain and justify the legislation to permit food irradiation. The report notes that, far from being an untested procedure, studies had shown it to be a safe way of treating food. The Committee members had studied all the evidence and visited a food irradiation plant in Holland. The main effects of food irradiation are noted and the reasons for allowing its use are given. The debate lasted nearly two hours and is reported verbatim. The debate covered many aspects of food irradiation: the chemical and nutritional changes in food, the damage to vitamins, the need to mark irradiated food clearly, the lack of an organised data base, food safety and the disposal of packaging materials. (UK)