Food Labels

An Associated Press story on USAToday.com says the FDA has proposed relaxing its requirements for labeling food as "irradiated" (which is a technique used to kill bacteria that involves zapping food with radiation).

The new rules would apparently allow some irradiated food to be labeled as "pasteurized" instead (or to be labeled with a variety of other terms as proposed by food manufacturers) and would only require food to be labeled as "irradiated" if the radiation causes a material change to the product, such as to its taste, texture, smell or shelf life.

Even the FDA acknowledges that the new rule could confuse consumers, noting as follows in its proposal...

"Research indicates that many consumers regard substitute terms for irradiation to be misleading,"

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-04-04-food-radiation_N.htm

It is an outrage that the FDA would propose a rule that it knows will confuse consumers, and that they are even considering not required irradiated food to be labeled as such.

Consumers should always have complete and accurate information available on food product labels to allow them to make the most informed purchasing decisions possible.