Chook Me!

Irradiated meat poultry and fruits marked with a symbol are you more or less likely to purchase and why?

Food irradiation can prevent bacterial food poisoning, slow spoilage and prolong the shelf life of food it does not make food radioactive or alter its nutritional value. Some people worry that it may cause harmful chemicals to form and it does not kill the endospores that can cause botulism. Irradiated meat, poultry and fruits are already available in many supermarkets. By law they must be marked with a symbol. Would seeing this symbol on a package make you more or less likely to purchase the product. Explain your answer...

Public Comments

1. i do not buy IR foods. no way. no how.
2. I would never see such information I look at the price tag Besides Irradiation has been proven safe SO The only thing such labels do is increase the price "Much Ado About Nothing" I have no fear of rumors by food radicals
3. They're not marked here in NYC that I've seen and most foods are irradiated anyway, not to mention genetically altered.
4. Had I ever seen such a symbol, I would not hesitate to purchase a food product marked with it. I think it's a good practice in the overall scheme of things, and don't know why it is feared so much. I will tell you though, if the price tag reflects a higher price for equal quality products available, I will steer clear. I am not in any NEED of irradiated food, since I don't purchase more than I can consume in any foods' expected shelf life. And, for better or worse, I feel reliant on modern commercial food preparation, government regulations, and, most importantly, on my own cooking ability, to assume I won't be getting bacterial poisoning such as salmonella, botulism, or e-coli (even though such contaminations do occur rarely).
5. This is a subject we looked at in some depth, when I took a degree in Food Technology. Irradiation of food is safe...yes...so in itself I have no problems with eating food preserved this way. Some foods are ideal for irradiation..a good example is spices. It is difficult to reduce the micro load on these without destroying them and affecting quality...strawberries are a good example of a food/fruit that will also benefit. HOWEVER...we should always bear in mind that when food preservation techniques have been used on a food this could be to disguise contamination, or paper over bad storage, instead of providing say, fresh meat that has been stored correctly. For this reason....yes, I`d eat irradiated fruit and spices....but would be highly suspicious of meat and poultry whose shelf-life has been extended in this manner. There should be no need.... Beechnut.