Our foods may be Irradiated with out our the consumer even knowing about it! Wow what a mess this is. You may or may not know that the FDA and codex alimentarius which is the equivalent of the FDA for the United Nations has deemed irradiated foods “safe” for consumption.

The good news so far is that if a food is irradiated it must be labeled. The bad news is that when irradiating a food it does lose nutritional value but at this time it is not thought of as loosing any more value than it does when cooked.

Well as we all know when you cook a food you can pretty much say good bye to the nutritional value of it which is why raw, fresh foods are making a big splash in the health industry. RAWFOODMEDIA is spreading the word about how to eat your foods in a state of optimal nutrition. In fact foods taste better and the recipes we share with you are simple and easy.
 

Watch out because a product does not have to be marked as an irradiated food if only some of the ingredients have been irradiated. As long as the final product has not been irradiated then the product does not have to be labeled that way. Also note they are irradiating raw foods like fruits, nuts and veggies.

They state that the irradiated food will last 3 weeks on the self instead of 3 to 5 days and it inhibits sprouting and delays ripening. So it looks great on the outside but what is it doing to our bodies on the inside?

So what can we do?

We are going to send letters out to our politicians and will be happy to include your comments so shout out loud.

 Buy your products from the farmers markets in your area.

 Below is a link for farmers markets:

For California farmers market

http://www.cafarmersmarkets.com/search/

The following is from the FDA website

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-irr1.html

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fr990217.html

Is food irradiation safe?

Many health experts agree that using a process called irradiation can be an effective way to help reduce food-borne hazards and ensure that harmful organisms are not in the foods we buy. During irradiation, foods are exposed briefly to a radiant energy source such as gamma rays or electron beams within a shielded facility. Irradiation is not a substitute for proper food manufacturing and handling procedures. But the process, especially when used to treat meat and poultry products, can kill harmful bacteria, greatly reducing potential hazards.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved irradiation of meat and poultry and allows its use for a variety of other foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, and spices. The agency determined that the process is safe and effective in decreasing or eliminating harmful bacteria. Irradiation also reduces spoilage bacteria, insects and parasites, and in certain fruits and vegetables it inhibits sprouting and delays ripening. For example, irradiated strawberries stay unspoiled up to three weeks, versus three to five days for untreated berries.

Food irradiation is allowed in nearly 40 countries and is endorsed by the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association and many other organizations.

Irradiation does not make foods radioactive, just as an airport luggage scanner does not make luggage radioactive. Nor does it cause harmful chemical changes. The process may cause a small loss of nutrients but no more so than with other processing methods such as cooking, canning, or heat pasteurization. Federal rules require irradiated foods to be labeled as such to distinguish them from non-irradiated foods.

Follow updates at FDA at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lab-cat.html