[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H7022-H7023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LOW-DOSE IRRADIATION FOR RED MEAT

  (Mr. GANSKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GANSKE. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about something important to 
the health of our citizens. In 1994, the Food and Drug Administration 
was asked to approve the use of low-dose irradiation for red meat. 
Irradiation kills bacteria like E. coli. It could prevent meat recalls 
and public scares like that we witnessed for Hudson Beef last month.
  Statutorily, the FDA had 180 days to act on this petition. To date, 
they have failed to do so.

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. Speaker, I have a personal interest in this. As a physician, I 
know that low-dose irradiation is safe and it could prevent a lot of 
illness relating to ground beef. I also was sick from food poisoning 
last summer and I can tell Members that had I been

[[Page H7023]]

immunosuppressed or an elderly person, the result may not have been as 
good as it was.
  Mr. Speaker, I will soon introduce legislation to protect American 
consumers by giving approval for the use of low-dose irradiation for 
red meat, hamburger, so that you can cook your hamburgers medium rare 
if you would like. It would amend the labeling requirements so that 
people would know that the are buying low-dose irradiated meat, and it 
would require restaurants to notify consumers of that choice. This is 
something we ought to do for the health of all of the people of our 
country.

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