What are consumer demands in accepting irradiated food?

In most countries the opportunity to buy irradiated foods is largely non-existent. Consequently any paper attempting to spell out consumer demands for the acceptance of irradiated foods must depend to a large extent on concerns expressed in the vacuum now existing and extrapolate such concerns as possible demands by consumers when faced with the reality of irradiated foods in the marketplace. It appears in choosing to buy irradiated foods consumers want safety, wholesomeness, labelling and of course honesty and integrity from the companies who produce and market such irradiated products. Unfortunately such honesty and integrity has often been found to be lacking in other parts of the food industry. The general consumer scepticism of industry ethics is compounded by the language problem - because science and technology (and that includes irradiation) are another language to most consumers. Such communication difficulties have to be addressed without condescension or paternalism - consumers want information not a pat on the head. The bottom line is that consumer groups in most countries are spelling out prerequisites for any introduction of irradiated foods to the marketplace. The willingness of industry and the appropriate government agencies to meet such demands will determine the success or otherwise of food irradiation. (author). 8 refs