Saturday, July 30, 2005
Editorials
OUR OPINION Oahu
fruit is ripe for irradiation
THE ISSUE A Hawaii
company plans to build a facility to irradiate fruits and
vegetables.
OAHU farmers can celebrate a major boost next February when a
commercial radiation facility opens near Honolulu Airport. The
apparatus will enable them to disinfect papayas and other fruit and
vegetables with X-rays so they can expand markets on the mainland and
in Japan, which bans untreated produce.
Michael Kohn's Pa'ina Hawaii has submitted an application to the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission for operation of an "underwater,
pool-type commercial irradiator," and approval is virtually certain.
The technology, the preferred method of killing bacteria, fruit flies
and other insect pests, has widespread acceptance and the commission
should give its quick go-ahead.
The proposal may face Luddite opposition similar to the unfounded
protests that preceded the opening of an irradiation facility in the
Puna district of the Big Island five years ago. Opponents exploited
preposterous fears comparing the process with nuclear power and even
nuclear weapons.
Henry Curtis, president of the Life of the Land environmental group,
concedes that the process "may not leave any radiation on the food,"
but he is "not sure if it affects the nutritional value or if toxics
might be produced."
Those concerns are baseless. The Food and Drug Administration began
approving irradiation of food products more than 40 years ago and it is
now used in 37 countries. It is endorsed by the American Medical
Association, the World Health Organization and other authoritative
bodies.
As for Curtis's concern, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reports, "The foods are not changed in nutritional value and they are
not made dangerous as a result of the irradiation."
The new facility should provide an economical incentive to increase
production of papayas and exotic fruits grown here for shipment
elsewhere.
http://starbulletin.com/2005/07/30/editorial/editorials.html#jump