FDA Allows Irradiation of Spinach and Iceberg lettuce

The FDA announced they are close to approving a rule that allows food processors to irradiate fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce. The announcement was issued in the Federal Register for Friday August 22nd 2008. This rule is available both in pdf and html versions.

For a more concise report, take a look at this article in the Washington Post: "FDA Allows Irradiation of Some Produce" and this statement posted by the FDA. This is a new development for fresh food. Previously, the FDA only allowed irradiation of some types of meat (like ground beef, due to E. coli) and a few spices.

Want to share your opinion or other comments about this with the FDA? The comment period is open until September 22, 2008, and may be submitted using the comment form at Regulations.gov. Be sure to include the docket number FDA-1999-F-2405 so the agency will know what rule you are commenting on.

The Federal Register contains a wealth of information about the rules, proposed rules and notices from government agencies. In fact, the Federal Register for this rule includes background information, safety information and summary of comments received to date. If you decide to submit comments, be sure to take a look at the Comment Summary in order to make your comments stronger and more relevant.

Curious about what else the FDA is doing? Take a look at Recalls.gov/food for safety alerts from both the FDA (food, pet food) and the USDA Food and Safety Inspection (meat, poultry, eggs). [Thanks to Laura McClanathan for the link suggestion!]