Group recommends food irradiation ban

Press, 28 November 1988, Page 6

Group recommends food irradiation ban

PA Wellington Food irradiation is safe when properly controlled and should be available to the food trade in future, a policy study group says. But in a document summarising public submissions, the group said the Minister of Health should refuse applications to irradiate food for human consumption until enforceable controls are in place. It said the effects on industry and society must also be evaluated. Irradiation is a process of treating food with radioactivity to sterilise and preserve it, but opponents fear it may be harmful. The document, prepared by a steering group of a working party which reported its findings in February, summarises public submissions. It said the ban was recommended because New Zealand lacked expertise on procedures to prevent abuse of the process and to detect irradiated food. Prohibition had few disadvantages as there was little need for, the process in New Zealand, but it could help export

marketing strategies which emphasise New Zealand’s “clean, green” image, the report said. The steering group, chaired by Environment Ministry deputy secretary, Mr John Gilbert, and comprising Government department representatives, made its summary of public submissions after the working party report was issued. That report recommends the process not be permitted at present. A Friends of the Earth spokesman, Mr Bob Tait, a working party member, said the steering group’s recommendation weakened the working party’s view that food irradiation should be banned. He said leaving control in the Minister’s hands would merely repeat the existing legal situation. Legislation making the process illegal had to be' passed so offenders would automatically be prosecuted. When chives were illegally irradiated in Wellington recently, existing legislation allowed the Minister of Health, Mr Caygill, to decide not to prosecute, he said. However, the Associate

Minister for the Environment, Mr Woollaston, said policy drafted from the steering group’s summary and further departmental submissions would be faithful to the working party’s original recommendations. Environmental groups and the Apple and Pear Board supported the working party recommendation, while submissions from the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association, the Fruit Growers’ Federation, the Kiwifruit Authority, Challenge Meats and the Meat Industry Research Institute opposed it. One reason for opposition is that a ban would restrict the ability of the industry to respond to market requirements, the summary said. The Health Department, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the D.S.I.R. and Treasury also opposed the ban. The Treasury said a ban would compromise New Zealand’s image as a leader in deregulation. The summary also recommends a ban on importing irradiated foods, although support and opposition were evenly divided.