Irradiation of food is permitted in the European Union according to legislative guidelines.
A number of French NGOs will demonstrate outside irradiation facilities on 5 March 2005 to indicate their strong concerns about potential danger from food irradiation and the lack of proper informaiton for consumers. Action Consommation, Agir Pour l’Environnement, Les Amis de la Terre - France, Association Léo Lagrange pour la Défense des Consommateurs, ATTAC - France, Biocoop Bure-Stop, Confédération Paysanne, CriiRAD, Le CRIN, Fédération Nature et Progrès, Mouvement pour les Droits et le Respect des Générations Futures (MDRGF), Public Citizen, Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire argue that serious concerns remain on long-term health effect of eating a diet based on irradiated foods. They are calling for a complete ban of food irradiation
According to the European Commission’s DG SANCO, “irradiation is physical treatment of food with high-energy, ionising radiation”. It is usually used to extend product lives or to reduce potential risks created by micro-organisms (desinfection or prevention of germination for example).
Although ionising radiation of dietary supplements is not allowed in the EU, DG SANCO asserts, in a report issued in 2002 on food irradiation, that “in 2002, four Member States [1] performed checks on dietary supplements and still found that 29.4 % of the products checked had been irradiated”.
The European Commission set up two legislative instruments Framework Directive 1999/2/EC and Implementing Directive 1999/3/EC to authorise irradiation and to attempt to develop a European approach to this widespread practice.
Related issues : Colour solvents and chemical flame retardants presence in food.
