Irradiated Meat

[Rail Paul]

I visited the Wegman's food store in Bridgewater NJ today, and noticed they have a display of irradiated meat. Large sign announcing it, too. Ground beef, several chuck steaks, a roast etc.

Sign says "Have your burger as rare as you'd like." There was an assortment of informational package about the beneficial aspects of the product (kills bacteria, salmonella, e-coli, glows in the dark, etc).

The butcher said the meat has been very well received, causing them to increase their orders. Ground beef comes in  a tube, or in a flat styro carton.

This was my first exposure to irradiated meat, the "in your face" message intrigued me. Prices appeared consistent with the conventional, dirty, beacteria laden product alongside it.

Has anyone actually tried this product yet? Any opinions?

[SobaAddict70]

If you've ever had a burger from Burger King (presumably this is the same in McDonald's or Wendy's), you've had irradiated meat.  That's what hamburgers, zapped in a microwave amounts to.  I speak from experience, having worked at a BK when growing up as a teenager.  First they flame-broil the meat, then put the asembled hamburger (sans lettuce, etc.) in a steamer.  Then when its time for the order to be made, the preparer makes the sandwich and zaps the burger in the microwave.  You're not supposed to zap the top (which contains mayo, lettuce, and tomato), but you never know...

Then the sandwich gets assembled and gets placed under a heat lamp, or is made to order.  I'd say that any bacteria in the food is probably dead or TOAST by now.

And you thought fast food was a one-shot deal...

[ngatti]

Has anyone actually tried this product yet? Any opinions?

Paul,

Nations Restaurant News had a pretty in depth story in last weeks issue about a major fast food chain test marketing the stuff.  I gave the issue away   .  I'm sure they have a site.

If you've ever had a burger from Burger King (presumably this is the same in McDonald's or Wendy's), you've had irradiated meat.  That's what hamburgers, zapped in a microwave amounts to.

sobaaddict70,

    Yes, technically that's true, the meat is irradiated with microwaves, but I believe the process works differently.  Microwaves excite the water molecules in food to move rapidly, creating steam and causing the food to cook from the inside out.  

    I THINK that the radiation used on so-called 'Irradiated Beef' is somewhat more akin to an x-ray or a radioactive isotope.  Rather than cooking the meat to a certain temperature (and destroying the bacteria) the radiation acts on a nuclear level disrupting the bacteria's cellular structure thereby causing the death of said bacteria and leaving the meat itself relatively unscathed (its already dead   )

YMMV

Nick

[ngatti]

I visited the Wegman's food store in Bridgewater NJ today, and noticed they have a display of irradiated meat. Large sign announcing it, too. Ground beef, several chuck steaks, a roast etc.

Paul,

    While irradiation of bulk ground beef prolly makes sense, I see no reason for irradiating subprimals, steaks, chops or roasts.  The interiors of these meats don't come into contact with the gut.  The added food safety margin gained from irradiating these cuts is of dubious value and probably adds uneccessary costs to these items.

Nick

[ngatti]

Here is the NRN abstract, $5.00 for the full text at their site:

www.nrn.com.  Go to archives and type in keyword irradiation.

" DQ FIELD TESTS IRRADIATED BURGERS AS FARM BILL RELAXES LABELING LAW

Date: May 20, 2002 Source: Nation's Restaurant News

Section: News

Keywords Found: 15 Words: 1488 Characters: 9605  

Summary: In unprecedented promotional test marketing of irradiated ground beef, Dairy Queen was tallying high marks from burger consumers in the Midwest this month even as President Bush was signing legislation that will permit marketers to label irradiated foods as "pasteurized." House Bill 2646, "The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 20..."  

Hope this helps

Nick  

[John Whiting]

Irradiation gives the food industry carte blanche to relax its food safety standards at stages prior to the treatment. This is bad enough; however, there is a further danger which is not often discussed. Live bacteria can excrete poisons into foods in which they are active. Irradiation may kill the bacteria but it does *not* remove the poisons. And of course, irradiation is no protection against subsequent bacterial contamination, though manufacturers use the label as though it were a guarantee of purity.

The move towards labeling irradiation as "pasteurizing" is a deliberate redefinition and falsification of an existing technical term. It's as misleading as if "genetically engineered" foods were relabeled "crossbred".

[ngatti]

This is bad enough; however, there is a further danger which is not often discussed. Live bacteria can excrete poisons into foods in which they are active. Irradiation may kill the bacteria but it does *not* remove the poisons. And of course, irradiation is no protection against subsequent bacterial contamination,

In fact I was just thinking this before i came across your timely post.  What about a staph type of contamination, where the food poisoning comes NOT from the bacteria itself but from the bacterial excrement.

My immediate tendency is to agree with you John.  I sense a movement, driven by the very real dangers inherhent in bulk ground beef, to irradiate everything.  My fear is your fear.  That a 'let's irradiate everything' mentality will take hold leading to lax enforcement of existing standards.  I think that the industry is looking for an irreducible panacea to combat food spoilage.  Irradiation is not the answer to everything.  Certainly the move to change nomenclature could be viewed as  a specious marketing attempt to 'sell' this to the public.

YMMV

Nick

[Shiva]

Food irradiation is not the same as microwaving.

Here's a Q and A from the USDA.

[jhlurie]

of interest...

http://www.lee-county.com/healthdept/data3...Irradiation.htm

http://www.emagazine.com/july-august_2000/0700gl_health.html

http://www.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/02/22/meat.irradiation/

an anti-irraditation viewpoint...

http://www.purefood.org/irrad/irradfact.cfm

Overall... memorize this symbol... .  Apparently all irradiated packaged food has to contain it...

[ngatti]

Thank you jhluhrie.  I stopped at all the sites.  I now have quite a few serious reservations or at least issues that I would like addressed or explained further.

Thanx

Nick

[Rail Paul]

The Wall Street Journal has an article (Thursday, November 7) about the introduction of irradiated meat into Giant, Jewel, Publix and Price Cutter locations. This process, which bombards the ground beef with gamma rays or electron beams, kills bacteria which may reside in the ground beef. It has been offered as an alternative to rules which require ground beef to be cooked to very high temperatures.

Customers seem divided about the Sure-Beam process, with some favoring it was a way to avoid illness. Others are concerned about possible health risks from the radiation process.

I've tried the beef (from Wegman's) on several occasions, and found it to be just fine. Burgers cooked rare are tasty. The "radura" selection now takes up a substantial piece of the meat counter in their Bridgewater NJ store. It's priced about a dime more per pound, as I recall.

I'll publish the link (subscription required) later.

[macrosan]

Paul, is it my imagination, or is your red chilli pepper avatar glowing a little brighter ?

[col klink]

This sounds like an excuse for the meatpackers to include substandard (read: OLD) cuts in their ground meat.

Give me an old-timey butcher that grinds his own meat any day of the weak. The idea of buying ground meat in a grocery store is simply too disturbing to contemplate.

[dave88]

This sounds like an excuse for the meatpackers to include substandard (read: OLD) cuts in their ground meat.

Not only old, but most likely unclean meat as well.

Although it may have been irradiated, meat with sh*t on it is still meat with sh*t on it.

[macrosan]

Although it may have been irradiated, meat with sh*t on it is still meat with sh*t on it.

Ahhh, you can't beat a bit of good, old-fashioned irradiated sh*t

[Jinmyo]

This sounds like an excuse for the meatpackers to include substandard (read: OLD) cuts in their ground meat.

Give me an old-timey butcher that grinds his own meat any day of the weak. The idea of buying ground meat in a grocery store is simply too disturbing to contemplate.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

"Mr. Butcher Guy, could you please grind up 4 pounds of that [points] for me? Thank you."

[g.johnson]

This sounds like an excuse for the meatpackers to include substandard (read: OLD) cuts in their ground meat.

Not only old, but most likely unclean meat as well.

Although it may have been irradiated, meat with sh*t on it is still meat with sh*t on it.

Irradiation will kill bacteria, but will do nothing to improve the smell or flavor of spoiled meat, so I think your concerns might be exaggerated. Furthermore, one of the plusses of irradiation is that it increases shelf life, so the point would be to irradiate the meat as soon as possible after slaughter.

[juuceman]

i don't think there's much exaggeration there.. there is sh*t in ground beef that produced by the big producers.. the speed with which the lines are run and the conditions used to slaughter, buthcer and process the meat don't permit it to not be there.. irradiated meat is just ane excuse to have dirtier meat in the food chain, with most (all??) of the bacteria being killed off.. let's just hope the irradiation doesn't bring rise to a whole new level of mutated bacteria in our food supply..

[Human Bean]

I just mentioned this book elsewhere, but it's certainly relevant here too. Most of you have probably heard of the book, but in case you haven't, see Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. It'll tell you more (MUCH more) than you ever wanted to know about the slaughterhouse and hamburger industry.

[cliche]

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[/cliche]

[col klink]

Fast Food Nation

This was a very enlightening book, but worse than the way the meat is treated is how the workers on the floor are treated. It broke my heart.

[ngatti]

I don't have a link, but I recommend a copy of Frederick Wiseman's film "Meat". It may be a little out of date, but is still enlightening as to slaughterhouse practices.

Irradiation? I don't know. I'm not ready to dismiss it out of hand. Anything that has the potential to save lives... The modern meat practices are here. Conjecture over how irradition will or will not dilute already existing practices may be premature and seem a "glass half empty", pessimistic view.

YMMV, and prolly does

Nick

[g.johnson]

I don't have a link, but I recommend a copy of Frederick Wiseman's film "Meat".  It may be a little out of date, but is still enlightening as to slaughterhouse practices.

Incredibly, none of Wiseman's films are available on video.

[stefanyb]

I don't have a link, but I recommend a copy of Frederick Wiseman's film "Meat".  It may be a little out of date, but is still enlightening as to slaughterhouse practices.

Incredibly, none of Wiseman's films are available on video.

Domestic Violence II (2002)

Last Letter, The (2002)

Domestic Violence (2001)

Belfast, Maine (1999)

Public Housing (1997)

Comédie-Française ou L'amour joué, La (1996)

Ballet (1995)

High School II (1994)

Zoo (1993)

Aspen (1991)

Central Park (1989)

Near Death (1989)

Missile (1987)

Adjustment and Work (1986)

Blind (1986)

Deaf (1986)

Multi-Handicapped (1986)

Racetrack (1985)

Store, The (1983)

Model (1980)

Seraphita's Diary (1980)

Manoeuvre (1979)

Sinai Field Mission (1978)

Canal Zone (1977)

Meat (1976)

Welfare (1975)

Primate (1974)

Juvenile Court (1973)

Essene (1972)

Basic Training (1971)

I Miss Sonia Henie (1971)

Hospital (1970)

High School (1969)

Law and Order (1969)

Titicut Follies (1967)

Some of the best documentary filmmaking ever done. Why are none are on videotape?

[Priscilla]

Fast Food Nation

This was a very enlightening book, but worse than the way the meat is treated is how the workers on the floor are treated. It broke my heart.

Too right, Colonel Klink. That's what I took away from FFN, too.

[tommy]

Some of the best documentary filmmaking ever done.  Why are none are on videotape?

because big business and "da man" are trying to oppress us?