Food irradiation

Press, 30 August 1986, Page 20

Food irradiation

Sir,—Just a few facts to enlighten Lloyd Habgood about his “proven, safe and reliable way of preserving food” (August 26). A 1984 report from the United States Environmental Protection Agency states that food irradiation has been associated with the increased production of aflatoxin, a deadly cancer-producing substance. Animal experiments have shown that genetic abnormalities may be triggered and rats and other test animals experienced an increase in kidney disease and had a shorter lifespan when fed irradiated

chicken. These tests were sponsored by the U.S.D.A. between 1976 and )986.and all showed the same findings; The list of deleterious effects of irradiated foods is too long to list here and New Zealand must not allow foods that have been subjected to measured doses of radioactivity to become widely available here for purely commercial reasons, i.e. longer shelf life. It does not inspire confidence in me to learn that we have a Minister of Health whose criterion for safety is that "people are not dropping dead like flies.” — Yours, etc., MARGARET RUSSELL. August 28, 1986.