Impact of Food Irradiation

Outline
• Food Safety: The Case of Food-borne Illness
• Food Irradiation
• Consumer Acceptance and Willingness to Pay: Ground
Beef and Mangoes
• Market Trials
• Trade Developments
US Food Safety System
• Tradition - precaution and science-based
risk analyses
• Regulatory process - open and transparent
manner
• Previous focus - chemical hazards
• Recent focus - microbial pathogens and
comprehensive farm-to-table approach
Foodborne Illness:
The Situation in US
Illness
Hospitalization
Deaths
Public health burden of foodborne diseases
 Each year an estimated 76 million cases
• 1 in four Americans gets a foodborne illness each
year
• 1 in 1000 Americans is hospitalized each year
• $6.5 billion in medical and other costs
Why is Foodborne Illness
Emerging?
• Globalization of food supply
• Pathogens introduced to new areas
• Travel
• Change in microorganisms
• Change in human population
• Change in lifestyle
Vulnerability of Our Food Supply
• The food supply comprises thousands of classes of foods,
domestic and imported
• Ever-more centralized production and processing with
wide distribution
• Unintentional foodborne outbreaks have happened over
large, dispersed, geographical areas
• This delays recognition of the
outbreak and complicates
identification of the source
A century ago most of our food
came from “local” sources.
Who is most susceptible to
foodborne illness?
Children are susceptible because
their immune systems are not
fully developed.
The elderly are also susceptible to
food-borne illness and suffer more
severe reactions because their
immune system is weaker.
Initiatives
• PulseNet - CDC’s national computer network of
public health laboratories rapidly identify
foodborne illness
• FoodNet - surveillance “sites” across the US for
foodborne diseases and related epidemiologic
studies
• Fight BAC! - public awareness program backed
by coalition of industry, producer, and consumer
groups
The chain of production from farm to
table:
A generic prevention scenario
Production
Processing
Final preparation
and cooking
On-farm sanitation, safety of
animals' food and water
biosecurity, probiotics, and other
"Good Agricultural Practices"
Factory sanitation, quality control
HACCP, inspection and other
"Good Manufacturing Processes"
Consumer education,
Foodhandler certification,
Restaurant inspection
The chain of production from farm to
table:
A generic prevention scenario
Production
Processing
Pathogen killing step
Final preparation
and cooking
On-farm sanitation, safety of
animals' food and water
biosecurity, probiotics, and other
"Good Agricultural Practices"
Factory sanitation, quality control
HACCP, inspection and other
"Good Manufacturing Processes"
Food Irradiation?
Consumer education,
Foodhandler certification,
Restaurant inspection
Public Health Breakthroughs
• Pasteurization of Milk
• Immunizations
• Chlorination of water supply
• Food Irradiation?
Intervention strategies used by the beef
processing industry to control
E. coli O157:H7
• Lactic Acid Carcass Wash
• Steam Vacuum
• Hand Trimming to remove fecal
contamination
• Acidified Sodium Chlorite Spray
• Steam Pasteurization
E. coli O157:H7 Organisms Remaining after
Application of Intervention Technology (initial cell
population 1,000,000 cells/gram)
Antimicrobial Intervention Strategies
• All current antimicrobial intervention strategies
reduce the level of pathogenic microorganisms
in ground beef.
• Irradiation reduces pathogenic microorganisms
by 99.99 to 99.999%.
• Only “cooking” completely destroys all
pathogenic microorganisms.
What can Food Irradiation Do?
 destroy
foodborne pathogens
 delay the ripening and spoilage of fresh fruits and
vegetables
 extend the shelf-life of perishable products like beef,
poultry, and seafood
 commercially sterilize foods
Shelf-life extension of Strawberries
Non-irradiated
Electron beam irradiated
After 7 days storage
After 17 days storage
What can Food Irradiation not Do?
 reverse
the spoilage process
 substitute for good handling and processing
 effectively destroy viruses, toxins, possibly prions
 prevent recontamination of food
 cannot be used on food claimed “organic”
Concerns Expressed by Anti-Irradiation
Groups
• Misuse to avoid plant sanitation
• Environmental safety of irradiation facilities
Terry Stokes,
CEO
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
May 29, 2003
“Irradiation complements, but does not
replace proper food handling and cooking
practices, and the numerous testing and
safeguard measures already in place.”
What Current Uses are Approved in
US?
 spices
 fruits and vegetables
 wheat/wheat flour
 pork and chicken
 red meats
 shell eggs
 seeds for sprouts
 pet foods
 food for space program
 Pending Approval: Ready-to-Eat Foods
What Current Uses are Approved in
Canada?
 Potatoes
 Onions
 Spices
 Dehydrated seasonings
 Wheat
 Flour
 Pending Approval: poultry, beef, shrimp, prawns,
mangoes
What Current Uses are Approved in
EU?
 Until 1999, use in Europe varied from country to country
 Recently, EU Parliament has issued directives to establish
community list
 Dried aromatic herbs
 Spices
 Vegetable seasonings
Impact of Food Irradiation
 If 50% of meat and poultry were irradiated:
 880,000 fewer cases
 350 fewer deaths
 8,500 fewer hospitalizations
“Until children have routine access to
irradiated hamburger, we will continue to
experience life-threatening outbreaks of
Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections in this
vulnerable population."
Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH
Director of the University of Minnesota
Center for Infectious Disease
Research and Policy.
“Not one child should be sacrificed so that
Americans can have cheaper meat!”
Barbara Kowalcyk
Mother of deceased Son,
in who’s name the new
Meat & Poultry Pathogen Reduction Act
is being named.
KEVIN’s LAW
Texas A&M Electron Beam Research
Facility
Electron Beam Irradiation Process
• uses electricity
• accelerates electrons
• scans product
• makes food safe…
…in SECONDS!
US Regulation on Labeling
• Inclusion of the radura symbol
• Labels:
– “treated with radiation”
– “treated by irradiation”
– “irradiated for food safety”
– These must be printed on the package, unless the word
“irradiated” is part of the product name
– Marketers can also now petition the FDA to use label
“electronically pasteurized” for e-beam irradiated foods
Consumer Acceptance and
Marketing of Irradiated Foods
Market Status
• Not yet a major factor in today’s food
processing environment – but slowly
growing
• Spices and herbs – largest area of
application
• Ground beef – fastest mover
• Randomly selected walk-in shoppers at the
entrance (total of 474 shoppers)
• Use irradiated or non-irradiated ground beef and
money as experimental tools
• At 13 HEB grocery stores in Texas, namely,
– – – – Austin (3 stores, 119 shoppers)
San Antonio (3 stores, 111 shoppers)
Houston (4 stores, 139 shoppers) and
Waco (3 stores, 115 shoppers)
Methodology
On actual survey, asked consumers sequentially on
– Their willingness to buy before and after learning
information about food irradiation
– Their self-perception whether they would belong
to one of the four consumer segments
– Their willingness to pay (WTP) for the irradiated
ground beef
Information
• General statement about food irradiation excerpted
from United States General Accounting Office
(GAO), Washington, D.C.
• “Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to
controlled levels of ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is
a type of energy similar to radio and television waves,
microwaves, and infrared radiation. The high energy
produced allows it to penetrate deeply into food, killing
microorganisms without significantly raising the food’s
temperature.“
Willingness To Pay Experiment
• Each respondent was given a pound of non-irradiated ground
beef and some money as a gift for survey participation
• Each respondent was asked his/her willingness to exchange a
pound of non-irradiated ground beef and the money “for” a
pound of irradiated ground beef.
– If the respondent accepted the bid, the WTP value is recorded as
first bid value
– If the respondent rejected the bid, he/she was asked again to
exchange “a pound of non-irradiated ground beef and a half value
(second bid) of the money” for a pound of irradiated ground beef.
If the answer was “Yes” the second bid value is recorded as WTP,
otherwise, the WTP is assumed to be lower than the second bid
value.
Average # of Times of Consuming
Ground Beef per week
Percentage of buying ground beef
when go grocery shopping
Experienced getting ill from food
poisoning
Comparison on reasons to food
poisoning
1(not important) ------------------------------------ > 10 (very important)
Radura Symbol Perception
1 means zero knowledge, and 5 means very knowledgeable
Consumer Segments
(before giving information on nature of irradiation)
Consumer Segments
(after giving information on nature of irradiation)
Buying Decision: Irradiated
Ground Beef
(after giving information on nature of irradiation)
Willingness to Pay Experiment
on first bid values
Willingness to Pay Experiment
on second bid values
WTP bid values
after trying the product, in percentage
Out of 71 returned postcards from 3 cities, except Austin.
Would you buy irradiated ready
to eat food?
Would you buy irradiated ground
beef containing antioxidant?
• The results clearly indicate that information
about food irradiation leads to favorable
changes in consumers’ perceptions and
buying decisions
• Consumers are willing to pay for reducing
risk of food-borne illness
Irradiated Mangoes
Procedures
• Consumer surveys were conducted in field/
grocery stores in the late winter/early spring of
2006
• Irradiated mangoes were used as product of
interest
• Participants were provided a brief information
sheet about mangoes with additional food
irradiation information provided during the field
experiment
Objective of Research
Assess the effect of different types of information on
consumers’ willingness to pay for irradiated mangoes
Why?
- Presence of anti-irradiation groups in the US that
disseminate negative information about food
irradiation to the public
- So it is important to know how to counter the negative
(mostly not based on science) information from
consumer activist groups
Types of Information
(Treatments)
• Positive – Information about the benefits of
food irradiation (source: GAO)
• Negative – Consequential information about
food irradiation (source: Public Citizen)
• Mixed – Both forms of information
presented (order of presentation alternated)
Positive Information: General statement about the benefit of food irradiation excerpted from the United States
General Accounting Office (GAO)1, Washington, D.C.
Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to controlled levels of ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is a type of
energy similar to radio and television waves, microwaves, and infrared radiation. However, the high energy produced by
ionizing radiation allows it to penetrate deeply into food, killing microorganisms without significantly raising the food’s
temperature.
An expert committee convened by the World Health Organization reviewed the findings of over 500 studies and concluded
that food irradiation creates no toxicological, microbiological, or nutritional problems. These studies have not borne out
concerns about the safety of consuming irradiated foods. For example, the studies indicated that chemical compounds in
irradiated food are generally the same as those in cooked foods, and any differences do not put consumers at risk.
Many federal agencies have regulatory responsibilities related to food irradiation, including FDA, USDA, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the
Department of Transportation—with FDA having primary regulatory responsibility for ensuring the safety of irradiated foods.
Irradiation can be used as a pest control treatment on quarantined fruits and vegetables to prevent the importation of harmful
pests—such as the Mediterranean fruit fly. To minimize this risk, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s
quarantine procedures require the use of fumigation or heat (hot water or hot air) or cold treatment of fruit that is not ripe.
Irradiation treatment is an effective alternative for many types of
fresh produce because it can be used on riper fruit and on fruit that cannot tolerate heat treatment. Moreover, a number of past
quarantine treatments have recently been prohibited—an example being fumigation with ethylene dibromide.
An important benefit of irradiation is that it can prolong the shelf life of many fruits and vegetables. It does this by reducing
spoilage bacteria and mold and inhibiting sprouting and maturation. As a result, products can
be harvested when fully ripened and can be transported and displayed for longer periods while maintaining desirable sensory
qualities longer than non-irradiated products.
According to the Institute of Food Technologists, it is highly doubtful that there would ever be any vitamin deficiency
resulting from eating irradiated food. In its 1980 evaluation of food irradiation, the Joint Expert Committee convened by
FAO, WHO, and IAEA concluded that irradiation caused no special nutritional problems in food.
Negative Information: General information about consequences of food irradiation excerpted from Public Citizen1,
Washington, D.C.
Food irradiation is sometimes incorrectly compared to microwaving. The energy particles in a gamma ray used in food
irradiation are up to 10 billion times more energetic than microwaves, making this a vastly different technology.
Irradiation can lead to the formation of Unique Radiolytic Products (URPs), mysterious chemical compounds that have not been
adequately identified or studied for their potential harm to humans. One such type of chemical was recently found to promote
the cancer-development process in rats, cause genetic damage in rats, and cause genetic and cellular damage in human and rat
cells. This chemical is a radiation byproduct of palmitic acid, a type of fat that occurs in virtually every food.
In legalizing food irradiation, the FDA relied on laboratory research that did not meet modern scientific protocols, which federal
laws require. Very little toxicological testing has been done on irradiated food during the past 20 years.
It is important to note that irradiation will not reduce the amount of fungicides, pesticides and herbicides used during the
growing period. The most likely chemical reduction would come from reduced fumigation of fruits and vegetables. Yet, fruits
and vegetables are very sensitive to irradiation (they break down easily following irradiation), so it is not a process likely to be
used with these foods extensively.
Irradiation kills beneficial microorganisms, such as the yeasts and molds that can help keep botulism at bay, as well as the
microorganisms that create the aromas that tell us when food has gone bad.
Irradiation can corrupt the flavor, texture and other physical properties of some foods, leading to meat that smells like a wet dog,
onions that turn brown, and eggs that are runny.
Irradiation destroys vitamins, nutrients and essential fatty acids, including up to 80 percent of vitamin A in eggs and half of the
beta carotene in orange juice. In some foods, irradiation can intensify the vitamin and nutrient loss caused by cooking, leading
to “empty calorie” food.
WTP Means and Change by Treatment
Acceptance as Measured by Trust
• Trust measured
independent of WTP
appears to follow the same
pattern as WTP
– Increases with Positive
information
– Decreases with Negative
Information
• Alone and with Positive
• Differences (Post – Pre)
are all statistically
significant
– Positive p = .002
Summary
• Positive information
– Overall, Positive information was observed to
significantly increase WTP
• Negative information
– Decreases WTP but still positive (not negative)
• Regardless of whether presented alone or Mixed with
Positive
Significant Implication
• Information about nature and benefits of food
irradiation can significantly increase consumers’
willingness to purchase and pay more for irradiated
foods!
• However, due to the weight attached by consumers to
negative information vis-à-vis positive information,
there is a tremendous need for a concerted effort to
continuously educate consumers about the nature and
benefits of food irradiation
Minnesota Model for Educating Consumers and Marketing
Irradiated Ground Beef
• Minnesota Beef Council led the way
• Education and lots of free samples
• series of trade shows at state fairs, major meetings and restaurant
shows
• series of press releases and media information widely distributed
throughout Minnesota have created a model now accepted by other
states
• educational workshops, issues management and partnerships with
public agencies, ground beef manufacturers, retailers and restaurateurs
• State beef councils, cattle organizations and others are using the
Minnesota Model to inform consumers, beef producers and marketers
about the advantages and benefits of irradiated ground beef
Hawaii Pride: Marketing of Irradiated Fruits
• Lots of free samples
• Pushing fruit quality with posters, recipes, taste testing, and the
strategic use of media coverage
• Formed relationships with retailers on the mainland US
• Since then, the sale of Hawaii Pride’s irradiated fruit has dramatically
increased. In supermarket chains such as Albertson’s, Kroger and
Safeway, operating in Minneapolis, Phoenix and Atlanta, sales have
increased from 400% to, in some cases, 1,000%
Market Trials in US
• Irradiated ground beef patties are available
at an estimated 7,000 supermarkets and by
mail order and home delivery.
Schwan’s
• Distribution: National
through home delivery.
• All of the non-cooked
ground beef products that
Schwan’s marketed are
irradiated and have been
since the summer of 2000.
Omaha Steaks
• Distribution: National
through mail order.
Omaha Steaks offers a
variety of “Gourmet
Burgers,” all of which are
irradiated.
• All ground beef marketed
by Omaha Steaks has been
irradiated since mid 2000.
Huisken Meats
• In May 2000, introduced
irradiated ground beef in
84 Minnesota stores.
• Today - offers two
irradiated ground beef
products; 90 percent lean
and regular ground beef.
• Huisken BeSure
irradiated patties are
available in an estimated
2000 stores in some 20
states.
Colorado Boxed Beef
• Began marketing “New
Horizon” brand irradiated
ground beef in mid-2000.
• New Horizon irradiated
patties are available
through Publix (700
stores) in the Southeast
and Topp’s (300 stores) in
the mid-Atlantic region.
Ellison Meats
• Ellison Meats, based in
Pipestone, MN, produces
two types of irradiated
ground beef patties for
Simek’s of St. Paul Park,
MN. Simek’s irradiated
patties are available at
retail through Cub Foods
65 supermarkets in
Minnesota and Wisconsin
and at Super America’s
400 convenience stores.
All ground beef marketed
by Simek’s is irradiated
Wegman’s
• Rochester, NY-based
Wegman’s began
marketing irradiated
ground beef in 2001.
• Wegman’s now offers
Huisken irradiated ground
beef frozen patties in all
stores in New York,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and Virginia
Results of these Market Trials
• Informed consumers like and will buy irradiated
foods
• Reasons:
– safety from food poisoning bacteria
– increased shelf life
– product quality
• To date, no single test market of irradiated foods
has been unfavorable when the consumer has been
provided information about food irradiation.
Results of these Market Trials
• The volume of irradiated food being marketed has
increased significantly in recent years, but the full-market
penetration is still small and growth potential is high
• The number of supermarkets that offer irradiated meat
products has increased in just three years from 84 to more
than 7,000 from approximately 50 retail chains
• Nearly 2,000 restaurants including those belonging to a
major fast food chain, are serving irradiated meat
Trade Developments
• In October 2002, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) approved the irradiation of fruits and vegetables via
regulation entitled, “Irradiation Phytosanitary Treatment of Imported
Fruits and Vegetables
• APHIS described the regulation as the allowance for irradiation to be
used as an alternative to current quarantine treatments
• The treatments combat 11 types of exotic fruit flies and the mango
seed weevil
• Foreign facilities exporting to the U.S. will operate under compliance
agreements with their National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPO)
International Trade Developments
• NPPO will sign a work plan with the USDA that cites the legal authority each
country has to allow irradiation as a quarantine treatment for imported fruit
and vegetables, the type and level of monitoring that each country will require
of the other country's irradiation treatments, and other conditions that must be
established
• USDA regulation stipulates that foreign irradiation treatments must be
conducted under a pre-clearance plan that specifies the level of direct USDA
oversight of the foreign irradiation treatment
• The Phytosanitary Issues Management Staff of APHIS are responsible for
negotiating the phytosanitary conditions for entry, including irradiation
treatment, with prospective trading partners
• Several countries including Brazil, Chile, Mexico, South Africa and Thailand
are preparing to export irradiated fruit to the U.S.
• India started exporting irradiated mangoes to US