Hamburger Helper

The Wall Street Journal ^ | July 23, 2002 | Wall Street Journal OpEd

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Hamburger Helper

You can bet a lot of grills sat cold this weekend after the Department of Agriculture announced a nationwide recall of 19 million pounds of beef -- the second largest in history. With 19 people sick from E-coli contaminated meat, nobody felt much like a hamburger.

The truly unfortunate thing about the latest recall is that it didn't have to happen. We've long had the tools to cut back on foodborne illnesses, but government agencies, egged on by groups like Public Citizen, have made it difficult to safely enjoy that steak tartare.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 76 million Americans get sick from foodborne pathogens each year, and 5,000 die as a result. The Agriculture Department estimates that just seven of these pathogens will result in medical costs and productivity losses of between $6.6 billion and $37.1 billion annually.

Scientists long ago figured out how to dramatically cut back on those statistics: food irradiation. Despite the word, irradiation has nothing to do with Chernobyl-like isotopes, but is a simple process where ordinary electricity is used to kill pathogens in food -- something akin to pasteurizing milk.

Irradiation is heartily endorsed by public health bodies ranging from the World Health Organization to the American Medical Association, and some 40 countries use it to keep food safe. It's also gained new importance as countries try to make food safe from bioterror.

The Food and Drug Administration itself approved irradiation of red meat in 1997, but at the prodding of activists also attached regulations guaranteed to keep consumers away. Packages undergoing the process had to carry warning-like labels that said "irradiation." They also had to exhibit the international "radura" symbol (which some say looks like an upside-down mushroom cloud).

This all thrills the Naderites at Public Citizen, which has banded with other liberal public-interest organizations to oppose irradiated food. The groups pour out Dr. Strangelovian descriptions of irradiation, and target restaurants and grocery stores that stock irradiated foods. As a result, the food industry has largely shied away from this simple safety procedure.

One high note is that the newly passed farm bill contains a measure allowing food companies to exchange the "irradiation" label for "pasteurization." That's a more honest description for consumers. The sooner people realize irradiation won't hurt them, the sooner we'll cut back on senseless food deaths.

Updated July 23, 2002 12:54 a.m. EDT

[riley1992]

Not mine. I fed hamburgers to my mother-in-law.

[Jim Robinson]

No, this is not a liberal debating society.

[Don Joe]

Whew! :)

[Rebelbase]

I won't buy beef if its not wrapped in clear plastic.

[First_Salute]

Bump.

[First_Salute]

Bump.

[First_Salute]

I would still prefer to not eat gov't irradiated food.

[First_Salute]

Do you have links on that, here at FR?; tx, in advance.

[First_Salute]

It's sad.

I have three friends who are postal; and they do good work; but the supervisor stratosphere reaches all the way down to, and upon, their shoulders.

They set a good example, and slowly, the newbies follow; the transformation is remarkable, at this one branch.

Of course, I will not say which it is, because the sup's will hasten to end such productivity.

[First_Salute]

Bump.

[the bottle let me down]

bump for later

[Sloth]

The author is correct about irradiation. But E. coli and other germs wouldn't be a problem if people just cooked the meat properly in the first place.