[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 114 (Wednesday, September 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   FOOD SAFETY REQUIRES MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH, INCLUDING IRRADIATION

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                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 11, 2002

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, the recent recall of ground beef 
highlights the need for increased attention to food safety and the 
means to achieve it. An editorial in the August 2, 2002, Norfolk Daily 
News, discusses the need to utilize a variety of approaches to further 
ensure safety. This includes adequate inspection at the plant and 
proper food preparation. In addition, the editorial states that ``the 
Federal government has made it possible, though not simple, for 
processors to employ the most fail-safe system of all--irradiation. 
Already in wide use in the food industry, it can extend shelf life as 
well as destroy the pathogens which seem to survive despite inspection 
efforts. Its use needs better acceptance in the red meat industry, and 
especially from those activists who claim to have the best interests of 
consumers at heart.''
  The Food and Drug Administration has approved irradiation for the 
control of pathogenic micro-organisms in red meat. The FDA concluded 
that irradiation reduced disease-causing microbes and did not 
compromise the nutritional quality of treated products. While the U.S. 
food supply is generally very safe, we must continue to seek improved 
methods of ensuring this safety. Irradiation is one of these methods.

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