Food Irradiation A European Perspective.

1
Food Irradiation - A European Perspective.

• Margaret Patterson, Agriculture Food Science
  Centre of the Department of Agriculture Rural
  Development (Northern Ireland) and Queens
  University, Belfast

2
Overview of presentation

• Structure and operation of EU legislation.
• EU legislation on food irradiation.
• EU consultation on food irradiation.
• Food irradiation in member states.
• Approved methods for detecting irradiated foods.

3
Structure and Operation of the European Union
European Parliament
Council of Ministers
European Court of Justice
European Commission
4
European Parliament
626 elected Euro MPs
talking shops

• Suggested amendments and comments on intended
  legislation

5
Council of Ministers

• Government ministers
• Central and Ultimate decision making body

6
European Commission
Super Civil Service
Originates all legislative measures
Upholds decisions of Council Ministers
7
European Court of Justice

• Guardians of directive legislation

Court of last resort
Final decision
8
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Implements decisions of Council or Parliament 20
Commissioners
24 Directorates-General
DGX1V Health Consumer Protection
Food Safety
Scientific Committee on Food
Food Irradiation
9
European Union 2004
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EU Legislation on Food Irradiation

• Framework Directive 1999/2/EC
• general technical aspects
• labelling of irradiated foods
• conditions for authorising food irradiation
• Implementing Directive 1999/3/EC
• list of food food ingredients which may be
  treated with ionising radiation

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Under the Framework Directive food irradiation
may be authorised only if

• there is a reasonable technological need.
• it presents no health hazard and is carried out
  under the conditions specified.
• it is of benefit to the consumer.
• it is not used as a substitute for hygiene and
  health practices or for good manufacturing or
  agricultural practice.
• OJEC, L66/16, 13.3.1999

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Under the Framework Directive, irradiation may be
used only for the following purposes

• to reduce incidence of foodborne disease by
  destroying pathogens.
• to reduce spoilage of foodstuffs by retarding or
  arresting decay processes and destroying spoilage
  organisms.
• to reduce loss of foodstuffs by premature
  ripening, germination and sprouting.
• to rid foodstuffs of organisms harmful to plant
  or plant products.

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Framework Directive Authorisation of food
irradiation

• A favourable opinion of the Scientific Committee
  on Food (SCF) is needed to place a specific item
  on the EU-wide list of products authorised for
  irradiation

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Scientific Committee on Food

• In 1986, 1992 and 1998 the SCF expressed
  favourable opinions on the irradiation of fruit,
  vegetables, cereals, starchy tubers, spices and
  condiments, fish, shellfish, fresh meats,
  poultry, camembert from raw milk, frog legs, gum
  arabic, casein/caseinates, egg white, cereal
  flakes, rice flour and blood products.

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Consultation on strategy for EU-wide positive
list of irradiated foods

• Issued in September 2000
• Consultation paper sent to
• EU Consumer organisations
• EU industry associations
• other interested parties

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Proposed strategy on EU-wide positive list of
irradiated foods (2000)

• Must benefit the consumer
• Must be a reasonable technological need
• Should not be used as a substitute for good
  hygiene practices.

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Proposed strategy on EU-wide positive list of
irradiated foods (2000)

• Foods proposed for positive list
• deep frozen aromatic herbs, dried fruit, cereal
  flakes and germs
• offal of chicken, egg white and gum arabic
  (additive)
• frog legs and peeled shrimp

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Proposed strategy on irradiated foods (2000)

• Foods not to be included in positive list
• fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals, starchy
  tubers, fish, camembert from raw milk, casein,
  rice flour and blood products
• fresh meat and poultry meat

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Results of consultation

• 33 comments received
• Consumer organisations
• Food industry
• FAO/WHO/IAEA Consultative Group on Food
  Irradiation
• Equipment companies
• Research institutes
• US Government

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Comments in favour of food irradiation

• The process is safe and could increase consumer
  protection.
• No justified reason to prohibit/restrict its use.
• If applied using GMP, it will not substitute for
  good hygiene.
• Best substitute for fumigation of certain foods.
• Low treatment volumes do not indicate no
  technological need.
• Restriction on irradiated foods could be
  potential barrier to trade.

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Comments against food irradiation

• Food processing industries tended not to be in
  favour of the technology.
• Current hygiene practices thought to be
  sufficient.
• Irradiation would be used to substitute for GMP.
• Shelf-life extension could misled consumers
  regarding freshness.
• Low consumer confidence in the technology.
• Need for more consumer information if positive
  list is extended.

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Conclusions of Consultation Exercise (2001)

• Many diverse views presented.
• Any proposal on the positive list would be
  criticised by one or both sides.
• Need a broader debate before deciding on any
  revision to the positive list.

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Current European Legislation(applies to all
Member States)
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Member states authorisations of food and food
ingredients which may be treated with ionising
radiation
Belgium
France
Italy
Netherlands
United Kingdom
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Belgium

• Potatoes
• Onions
• Garlic
• Shallots
• Vegetables, including pulses
• Strawberries
• Gum arabic
• Mechanically recovered poultry meat
• Frozen frogs legs
• Frozen, peeled or decapitated shrimps
• Egg white
• Herbs and spices

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France

• Herbs and spices
• Onions
• Garlic
• Shallots
• Dried vegetables and fruits
• Flakes and germs of cereals for milk products
• Rice flour
• Gum arabic
• Poultry
• Mechanically recovered poultry meat
• Offal of poultry
• Frozen frogs legs
• Dehydrated blood, plasma, coagulates
• Frozen, peeled and decapitated shrimps
• Egg white

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Italy

• Potatoes
• Onions
• Garlic
• Herbs and spices

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Netherlands

• Pulses
• Dried Vegetables and fruit
• Flakes from cereals
• Gum arabic
• Chicken meat
• Frozen frog legs
• Shrimps
• Egg white
• Herbs and spices

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United Kingdom

• Bulbs and tubers
• Vegetables including pulses
• Fruit (including fungi, tomato, rhubarb)
• Cereals
• Fish and shellfish (including eels, crustaceans
  and molluscs)
• Herbs and spices

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Czech Republic - Food Irradiation Clearances

• Foods (dehydrated) 10 kGy
• Spices 10 kGy

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Hungary - Food Irradiation Clearances

• Cherries
• Chicken
• Red currants
• Grapes
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Pear
• Potato
• Spices
• Strawberries

32
Poland - Food Irradiation Clearances

• Garlic
• Mushroom (dried)
• Onions
• Spices
• Vegetables (dried)

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Opinion of the EU Scientific Committee on
irradiation of food (April 2003)

• Still a requirement to specify a maximum dose.
• Foodstuffs need to be evaluated individually.
• Require more toxicological studies before
  approving the removal of the 10 kGy upper limit.

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Labelling of irradiated food under the Framework
Directive

• If products are sold as items the words
  irradiated or treated with ionising radiation
  shall appear on the label.
• If an irradiated product is sold as an
  ingredient, the same words shall accompany its
  designation in the ingredient list.
• The same words shall be required for irradiated
  ingredients used in compound ingredients, even if
  present

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European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)

• In 1993 the EC gave a mandate to CEN to
  standardise detection methods for irradiated
  food.
• CEN created the working group 8 Irradiated
  Foodstuffs of the Technical Committee 275 Food
  Analysis - Horizontal Methods (CEN/TC 275/WG 8)

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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
EN1784 1996 Foodstuffs - Detection of
irradiated food containing fat - Gas
chromatographic analysis of hydrocarbons
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
EN1785 1996 Foodstuffs - Detection of
irradiated food containing fat - Gas
chromatographic / Mass spectrometric analysis of
2-alkycyclobutanones

• Validated for
• chicken, pork,
• liquid whole egg
• Camembert cheese
• salmon meat

Can potentially be applied to any food containing
fat
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
EN1786 1996 Foodstuffs - Detection of
irradiated food containing bone - Method by ESR
spectroscopy
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
EN1787 2000 Foodstuffs - Detection of
irradiated food containing cellulose - Method by
ESR spectroscopy
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
EN13708 2001 Foodstuffs - Detection of
irradiated food containing crystalline sugar by
ESR spectroscopy
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
EN1788 2001 Foodstuffs - Detection of
irradiated food from which mineral grains can be
isolated - Method by thermoluminescence (TL)
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
EN13784 2001 Foodstuffs - DNA Comet assay for
the detection of irradiated foodstuffs -
Screening method
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8
EN137512002 Foodstuffs - Detection of
irradiated food using photostimulated
luminescence (PSL)
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Standard Detection Methods elaborated by CEN/TC
275/WG 8

• These European Standards have been adopted by the
  Codex Alimentarius Commission as General Methods.
• Referred to in the Codex general Standard for
  irradiated Foods in Section 6.4 on
  Post-irradiation verification.

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Food standards Agency, UK survey to detect
unlabelled irradiated foods (2002)

• 543 products sampled
• 44/138 (32) dietary supplements wholly
  irradiated
• 14/138 (10) dietary supplements partially
  irradiated
• 5/202 (0.5) prawn shrimp irradiated
• 1/203 (0.5) herbs spice irradiated
• None of the samples were labelled

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Approved Irradiation Facilities in the Member
States
9 60Co-gamma irradiators(Belgium, Germany,
France, Netherlands, UK) 6 e-beam facilities
(Germany, Denmark, Spain, France)
Approved Irradiation Facilities in third
countries
3 facilities in South Africa 1 facility in Hungary
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In summary.

• Legislation is in place to permit limited food
  irradiation within the EU.
• Legislation varies between countries
• Irradiated foods are not widely available
• Still appears to be much consumer resistance to
  the technology