FOODSAFETY 5LQ44.pdf

,@ THE CENTER FOR FOODSAFETY ~ Protecting Health, Safety G Democracy November 19,2001 I d r, Bernard Schwetz Dr. Alan Rulis U.S. Food and Drug Administration U.S. Food and Drug Administration 14-71 Parklawn Building CFSAN 5600 Fishers Lane 200c St. Sw Rockville, MD 20857 Washington, DC 20204 Mr. Joseph Levitt Dr. Laura Tarantino U.S. Food and Drug Administration U.S. Food and Drug Administration CFSAN CFSAN 200c St. Sw 200c St. Sw Washington, DC 20204 Washington, DC 20204 Re: Food Additive Petition 9M4697, Use of ionizing radiation for pre-processed meat and poultry; both raw and pre-processed vegetables, fruits and other agricultural products of plant origin; and certain multi-ingredient food products; Food Additive Petition 1M4727, Use of ionizing radiation for control of foodborne pathogens in crustaceans and processed crustaceans; Food Additive Petition 9M4682, Ionizing radiation for the control of Vibrio and other foodborne pathogens in fresh or frozen molluscan shellfish; Food Additive Petition 9M4695, Use of ionizing radiation to treat unrefrigerated (as well as refrigerated) uncooked meat, meat products, and certain meat food products; and Food Additive Petition 9M4696, Increase the maximum dose of ionizing radiation permitted in the treatment of poultry products. Greetings, The FDA is considering the five above-referenced food additive petitions to irradiate a much greater portion of the food supply, such as ready-to-eat foods, including some food items regulated by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. On May 14, 2001, our organizations filed comments opposing these petitions on the grounds of serious safety issues stemming horn scientific studies indicating that certain irradiated foods may cause mutagenic, genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in lab animals as well as in humans. 1 On behalf of the more than 150,000 members of our two organizations, this is to request that you fully consider the enclosed new evidence: Hidden Harm, a report on the toxic