
Health Topics A-Z | 2007 Archive | 2006 Archive | 2005 Archive | 2004 Archive | 2003 Archive
A R T I C L E |
D A T E |
| Smoking 101: What Happens When You Smoke, Puff by Puff? What Happens When You Quit, Breath by Breath? |
11-15-2007 |
| Polycystic Ovary Syndrome When a rite of passage takes a wrong turn |
05-23-2007 |
| 'Spit' for a Cure “No cavities and no breast cancer. See you in six months. Don’t forget to floss.” |
11-08-2006 |
| Inflammatory: The Other Breast Cancer |
10-18-2006 |
| HPV Vaccine to Fight Cervical Cancer | 08-09-2006 |
| ‘Better Than Ever’ Life and Love Life after Prostate Cancer: One Man's Story |
06-14-2006 |
| Turning Up The Heat on Cancer New Thermal Therapy Show Promise Against Some Cancers |
04-21-2006 |
| The Sweet and Sour Sugar Substitute Suspicions |
04-07-2006 |
| Propped Open: Pancreatic cancer patients can eat again, thanks to the small bowel stent |
10-05-2005 |
| Lung Cancer 101 | 09-13-2005 |
| The
Girl, The Tanning Bed and The Freckle: A cautionary tale to those who think they're immune to skin cancer |
06-10-2005 |
| The Butt Stops Here: A Consumer's Guide to Smoking Cessation Tools |
02-25-2005 |
| Double Jeopardy The link between estrogen and insulin could put women with diabetes or breast cancer at risk…for both. |
01-11-2005 |
| MicroCalcification A lump is not the only way breast cancer shows up |
10-07-2004 |
| “Mom! There’s a lump in my breast!” | 11-10-2003 |
| Connecting the Dots: Unique Tool for Early Skin Cancer Detection |
06-09-2003 |
| Living with Cancer: When Doctor Becomes Patient |
02-03-2003 |
Food Irradiation
and Safety
On August 22, 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a final rule that allows the use of irradiation to make fresh iceberg lettuce and fresh spinach safer and last longer without spoiling.
Irradiating fresh iceberg lettuce and spinach will help protect consumers from disease-causing bacteria such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli). Illnesses from these bacteria range from uncomfortable symptoms to life-threatening health problems.
The foods affected by the final rule are
Irradiation (also sometimes termed "ionizing radiation") is a process of treating products with a measured dose of radiation. Food irradiation is not new. FDA has conducted irradiation safety evaluations for more than 40 years and has determined the process to be safe for use on a variety of foods.
After studying the safety of irradiating fresh iceberg lettuce and fresh spinach, FDA has determined that these greens, when irradiated under the conditions specified in the final rule, retain their nutrient value and are safe to eat.
FDA considers irradiation a complement to, not a replacement for, proper food-handling by producers, processors, and consumers. Irradiation is just another tool to reduce the levels of disease-causing microorganisms on fresh iceberg lettuce and fresh pinach.
Irradiation does not take the place of washing. FDA continues to recommend that consumers wash fresh and bagged produce before eating unless the packaging specifically states that the product has been pre-washed.
For more information, go to: http://www.fda.gov)