According to a page on Health Canada’s website, the proposed amendments “would allow, but not require, the beef industry to use irradiation as a tool to improve the safety of their products.”
The amendment also says that irradiated ground beef would need to be clearly labelled as having undergone irradiation in accordance with the existing labelling requirements set out in regulations. Wheat, flour, potatoes, onions, dehydrated seasoning preparations and whole and ground spices are currently allowed to be irradiated in Canada.
According to The Star, Health Canada spokeswoman Maryse Durette says the announcement will be made in June in the Canada Gazette, with a period of public consultation to follow.
This is not the first time that Health Canada has tried to permit the sale of irradiated beef in the country. It tried in 2002, but according to their webpage, the amendment never went through “due to mostly negative stakeholder reaction.” In other words, the public wasn’t convinced of the safety of the irradiation process.
The proposed amendments have always had the support of the beef industry, with them claiming irradiation would cut down on food-borne pathogens. “I think public perception has changed,” says Mark Klassen, director of technical services with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, based in Alberta.
Klassen says, “When we ask Canadians if they think they should be able to purchase irradiated beef, they’re accepting of it.” While what he says may be true, although there are no numbers to back his statement up, consumers have to realise zapping meat with gamma rays is not going to get rid of the root problem – industrialised agriculture.
Opponents of irradiation point out that factory farms and feedlots cram large numbers of animals into small, confined spaces, creating a perfect environment where animals, water and food are exposed to large amounts of feces. The animals are then shipped to large, industrialised production facilities where as many as 300 cattle are slaughtered every hour.
This kind of scenario makes it almost impossible to keep fecal material off the carcases. “These huge operations are the cause of these illnesses,” says Lucy Sharratt of the Polaris Institute. “That’s more than speculation.” She adds, “The food industry is happy with the longer shelf life for these products and it puts a benign face on the nuclear technology by putting it in every kitchen.”
