Food irradiation, or, dead potatoes

-A typical Food Irradiation Plant

1-22-1984  Food irradiation, as the process is called, has been feasible for more than 30 years, but it is only now that FDA has considered permitting its use in the United States on a wide-scale basis.…About 50 irradiation-processed foods have been approved by health authorities in approximately 28 countries, including Japan, where 15,000 tons of potatoes are irradiated each year to inhibit sprouting.  Excluding Japan's potatoes, it is estimated that total world output of irradiated foods is 2,000 tons per year…..

  Robert Alvarez, spokesman for EPI, says the federal program in which states agree with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to regulate such facilities is in "a shambles.”  Calling irradiation "a high technology that's fairly dangerous," Alvarez says "the jury is still out in terms of its utility.”…

  The source of the gamma rays, most common of the rays used in food irradiation facilities, is cobalt-60, a byproduct of the nuclear industry.  In a food irradiation facility the food is placed on a conveyor belt and passed through a shielded chamber where it is exposed to the rays emitted by the radioactive metal.    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1984/01/22/treating-food-with-irradiation/550a5ee2-831d-4308-bdf7-94b11d0a44ea/?utm_term=.b579ebf4f68e

………………………..………………………………….............................…

 6-13-2012   Where the human genome carries some 22,000 protein-coding genes, researchers estimate that the human microbiome contributes some 8 million unique protein-coding genes or 360 times more bacterial genes than human genes.  This bacterial genomic contribution is critical for human survival.  Genes carried by bacteria in the gastro-intestinal tract, for example, allow humans to digest foods   and absorb nutrients that otherwise would be unavailable.

  “Humans don't have all the enzymes we need to digest our own diet,” said Lita Proctor, Ph.D., NHGRI's HMP program manager.  “Microbes in the gut break down many of the proteins, lipids and carbohydrates in our diet into nutrients that we can then absorb. Moreover, the microbes produce beneficial compounds, like vitamins and anti-inflammatories that our genome cannot produce.”  Anti-inflammatories are compounds that regulate some of the immune system's response to disease, such as swelling.

  Researchers were surprised to discover that the distribution of microbial metabolic activities matters more than the species of microbes providing them. In the healthy gut, for example, there will always be a population of bacteria needed to help digest fats, but it may not always be the same bacterial species carrying out this job.

  “It appears that bacteria can pinch hit for each other,” said Curtis Huttenhower, Ph.D., of Harvard School of Public Health and lead co-author for one of the HMP papers in Nature.  “It matters whether the metabolic function is present, not which microbial species provides it.”   https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-human-microbiome-project-defines-normal-bacterial-makeup-body

……………………………………………………………………

spring 2016    On the Food Irradiation Watch website Julius explains more explicitly, quoting references:  an increase in free radicals with associated lowering of antioxidants, lowered immune resistance, an upsurge in abnormal lymph cells, decreased fertility, damage to kidneys, depressed growth rates and lowered vitamins A, B, C, E and K.

  Julius argues that irradiating fruit as a quarantine measure is not suitable for two main reasons.  The dose of radiation required to kill pests would be too high for a lot of fruit, so ‘only low doses can be used for a slow kill resulting in alive irradiated immature insects. But there is no way to distinguish between immature irradiated insects and insects not exposed to irradiation’.  Secondly, the overall tissue softening resulting from irradiation means fruit can be more easily damaged in transit than their non-irradiated counterparts.

  Many proponents of irradiation argue that it is a process like others such as heat treatment in canning and preserving, and the pasteurisation of milk, in that while some nutrients, beneficial microorganisms and antioxidants are lowered or destroyed, the benefits outweigh the risks, and anyway we can get adequate nutrients elsewhere (Sadecka 2007)….

  In contrast to other regulatory authorities, such as our FSANZ, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is much more cautious about irradiation, limiting the dosage and food categories to those where it thinks there is adequate evidence.  Up till recently only herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings were permitted to be irradiated in the European Union, but there has been an increase in categories since their report in 2011.   https://organicnz.org.nz/magazine-articles/food-zapped-update-food-irradiation/

………………………………………………………...........................

  The food itself is already not alive, so irradiation will not affect it meaningfully.  Irradiation will kill the living bacteria, however….

  India's National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) found an elevated rate of cells with more than one set of genes (polyploidy) in humans and animals when fed wheat that was irradiated recently (within 12 weeks).  Upon analysis, scientists determined that the techniques used by the NIN allowed for too much human error and statistical variation; therefore, the results were unreliable….

  Gamma irradiation is produced from the radioisotopes cobalt-60 and caesium-137, which are derived by neutron bombardment of cobalt-59 and as a nuclear source by-product, respectively.^[55]  Cobalt-60 is the most common source of gamma rays for food irradiation in commercial scale facilities as it is water insoluble and hence has little risk of environmental contamination by leakage into the water systems.^[55]  As for transportation of the radiation source, cobalt-60 is transported in special trucks that prevent release of radiation and meet standards mentioned in the Regulations for Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials of the International Atomic Energy Act.^[59]  The special trucks must meet high safety standards and pass extensive tests to be approved to ship radiation sources. Conversely, caesium-137, is water-soluble and poses a risk of environmental contamination.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_irradiation

………………………………………………………………..............….

  Yeah, if it’s alive--like a sprouting onion or sprouting potato--throw it  away at once in the trash.  You wouldn’t want anything alive around you like the billions of healthy bacteria that make soil alive or those in your body that hlp make you alive (if you are).  Then take your opioids/other drugs and watch t.v. and put your Tesla car/life on auto-pilot.   -r. 

…..