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Script: Food Irradiation |
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Intro:
Welcome to USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service
Food Safety at home podcast series. These podcasts were
designed with you in mind - the consumer - who purchases and
prepares meat, poultry and processed egg products for your family and friends.
Each episode will bring you a different food safety topic ranging
from safe storage, handling, and preparation of meat, poultry and
processed egg products to the importance of keeping foods safe
during a power outage.
So sit back, turn up the volume and listen in.
Hello and welcome! Before we begin today's podcast, I want to let our listeners know, in the coming weeks FSIS will be switching to a new digital format to ensure the highest quality of audio and video podcasts. Please stay tuned to our upcoming podcasts for more information, or visits our website at www.fsis.usda.gov, for more information.
Host:
Welcome to "Food Safety at Home." This is Kathy Bernard with the Food Safety and Inspection Service and I'm your host for this segment. With me today is Felicia Thompson, technical information specialist from FSIS' Food Safety Education Staff. Felicia and I will discuss food irradiation.
Hello Felicia, welcome to the show.
Guest:
Thank you Kathy. I'm pleased to be here.
Host:
Today we're going to talk about food irradiation and how it can make food safer. But first Felicia, just what IS food irradiation?
Guest:
Well Kathy, food irradiation is a process in which approved foods are exposed to radiant energy, including gamma rays, electron beams, and x-rays. Irradiation of meat and poultry is done in a government-approved irradiation facility.
Host:
This sounds complicated. How do we know if the process is safe?
Guest:
In 1963, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found the irradiation of food to be safe. In 37 foreign countries, more than 40 food products are irradiated. In some European countries, irradiation has been in use for decades.
Host:
Does irradiation make food radioactive?
Guest:
No, Kathy you don't need to worry about that. The sources and amounts of energy that can be applied to foods have been approved by the FDA and are not strong enough to cause food to become radioactive. And scientific studies show that food irradiation does not significantly change the nutrient content, flavor, or texture of food. But it does make food safer.
Host:
Well then, how can irradiation make food safer?
Guest:
Just as pasteurization does for milk, irradiation reduces the numbers of harmful bacteria that may be present in food, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Campylobacter.
It's an important technology to protect consumers, but it's not a substitute for safe food handling practices or for good sanitation and process control in meat and poultry plants. It is an added layer of safety.
Host:
What foods are irradiated?
Guest:
U.S. food regulations allow the irradiation of fresh meat and poultry including whole or cut up birds, skinless poultry, pork chops, roasts, stew meat, liver, hamburgers, ground meat, and ground poultry.
Other foods that can be irradiated include wheat and wheat powder, white potatoes, many spices, dry vegetable seasonings, fresh shell eggs, and fresh produce.
Host:
Which of these foods are inspected by FSIS?
Guest:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service or FSIS inspects meat, poultry, and egg products, including those that are irradiated.
Host:
Is it safe to eat irradiated meats raw, for example, steak tartare?
Guest:
Irradiation does not replace safe cooking and handling, and it doesn't make raw meat safe to eat without cooking.
Follow the four easy steps in USDA's Be Food Safe™ campaign to handle and prepare raw meat and poultry safely.
- Clean. Frequent cleaning can keep bacteria from getting on hands, cutting boards, knives, and countertops.
- Separate. Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood and their juices away from ready-to-eat food to avoid cross-contamination.
- Cook. Use a food thermometer to make sure food reaches a safe minimum internal temperature. You can't tell food is cooked safely by how it looks.
- Chill. Bacteria spread fastest at temperatures between forty and one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit. Don't leave food sit out more than two hours. Refrigerate or freeze food to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
Narrator:
When I go grocery shopping, how will I know if meat and poultry products are irradiated?
Guest:
The international symbol for irradiation must appear on packages if the entire product was irradiated, as well as the phrase, "treated by irradiation" (or "treated with irradiation"). A symbol, called the radura, must be on the packaging. The radura looks like a flower surrounded by a circle, and it can be any color.
Narrator:
How will I know if irradiated fresh meat or poultry is used in a cooked product?
Guest:
If irradiated meat or poultry is used in another product, such as pork or turkey sausage, then the ingredients statement must list irradiated pork or turkey, but the radura does not have to appear on the package.
Narrator:
Will I be able to tell if restaurants serve irradiated food?
Guest:
Not usually. Restaurants are not required to disclose the use of irradiated products to their customers; however, some restaurants voluntarily provide irradiation information on menus.
Narrator:
How can I find out more about food irradiation?
Guest:
Both FSIS and FDA have great Web sites with information about food irradiation. Go to www.fsis.usda.gov and look for Irradiation Resources under the Fact Sheets. You can also type in a question to AskKaren.gov. Information is also available at www.fda.gov.
Narrator:
Can I talk to someone about food irradiation?
Guest:
Yes. You can talk to a food safety expert by calling our toll-free USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline. That's 1-888-674-6854.
Narrator:
That's it for this week. We've been talking to Felicia Thompson from FSIS' Food Safety Education Staff. Thank you so much Felicia, for your helpful information on food irradiation. I'm Kathy Bernard and I'd like to thank you for joining us for this episode of "Food Safety at Home." And remember, "Be Food Safe."
Outro:
Well, that’s all for this time. Thanks for joining us today
for another episode of food safety at home!
For answers to your food safety questions call USDA's toll-free
meat and poultry hotline at 1-888-mphotline. That’s
1-888-674-6854.
You can also get answers to food safety questions online from our
virtual representative "ask karen" at
www.askkaren.gov .
Let us know what you think of this podcast by sending your
comments to podcast@fsis.usda.gov.
Thanks for tuning in.
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Last Modified: September 1, 2009 |
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