Important to Know ! Food Irradiation Deception!

[Guest guest]

How the Food Industry Wants to Fool You About Food Irradiation by

Changing Its Name

 

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

The following letter helps us understand the new strategy the industry

is going to use. They are planning to put a spin on the wording and

change the term " irradiation " to " cold pasteurization " . All of this is

in the interest of improving consumer acceptance of this very dangerous

technology.

This reminds me of the MRI scans that we have now. When I was in medical

school they were called NMR scans. This was short for nuclear magnetic

resonance scans. Although NMR is more technically accurate, it had a

severe public image problem, so the term was changed to MRI.

June 26, 2001

Mr. Donald S. Clark, Secretary

U.S. Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, D.C. 20580

Re: False advertising complaint against SureBeam Corp.

Dear Mr. Clark:

Under the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act and Title 15 of

the U.S. Code, Public Citizen and the Center for Food Safety hereby file

a false advertising complaint against SureBeam Corp. This complaint

relates to the manner in which SureBeam recently advertised its services

on the Internet.

Based in San Diego, CA, SureBeam is a provider of food irradiation

services using linear accelerators. On May 24 and 25 of this year,

SureBeam sponsored the " Daily Industry News " provided by the

Internet-based news and information service, MEATingplace.com

(www.meatingplace.com). These advertisements promoted SureBeam's

" electronically pasteurized foods. " These advertisements are misleading

because pasteurization and irradiation are distinctly different

processes.

Pasteurization is a thermal process that was invented by French

microbiologist Louis Pasteur in 1864, when he discovered that

microorganisms could be killed by heating wine to 55° C for several

minutes. For decades it has been used successfully to decontaminate

dairy products, fruit juice, beer and wine. Irradiation is an ionizing

radiation process that was developed during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s,

mainly through research conducted by the

U.S. Army, which was looking for ways to better preserve food for

soldiers; by the U.S.

Atomic Energy Commission, which was looking for non-military

applications of nuclear technology; and the U.S. Department of Energy,

which was looking for ways to utilize the radioactive waste generated by

the production of nuclear weapons.

In the case of SureBeam, the company uses a type of linear accelerator

originally developed for the Strategic Defense Initiative to fire

electrons nearly to the speed of light, killing microorganisms by

disrupting their DNA. Though legal for nearly 40 years, food irradiation

has yet to be extensively integrated into commercial food production and

distribution systems.

Accordingly, the American public has markedly different opinions about

the two processes. Pasteurization has been named in many public opinion

polls as one of the most trusted food safety technologies ever

developed. Irradiation, however, is unfavorably looked upon:

From 1998 to 2000, the percentage of shoppers who told the Food

Marketing Institute that they would buy irradiated food dropped from 79

percent to 38 percent.

According to a 1997 CBS News poll, 73 percent of people surveyed said

that food should not be irradiated, and 77 percent said they would not

eat irradiated food including 91 percent of women surveyed.

According to a 1998-99 poll by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control,

only about a fourth of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay

more for irradiated ground beef and poultry.

The fact that consumers hold negative attitudes toward irradiation was

echoed at a food irradiation conference held in Washington, D.C., Feb.

26-28. Brian Folkerts of the National Food Processors Association told

the audience that " the word irradiation has a very negative connotation "

that " is an impediment to the consumer acceptance of irradiated food. "

NFPA president Jeffrey Barach told the audience that irradiation " is a

very pejorative term. "

It is clear that SureBeam is attempting to stimulate positive consumer

responses to irradiated food by invoking the word " pasteurization. " It

is also clear that people who read SureBeam's advertisements on the

MEATingplace.com are likely to believe that SureBeam provides

pasteurization services.

Accordingly, SureBeam's use of " electronically pasteurized " is

deceptive. Title 15, Section 52 of the U.S. Code states that " it shall

be unlawful for any ... corporation to disseminate, or cause to be

disseminated, any false advertisement. "

Title 15, Section 55 defines " false advertisement " as an advertisement

that is " misleading in a material respect. " Section 5 of the FTC Act

prohibits " deceptive acts or practices. " Sections 12 and 15 make this

prohibition applicable to food. According to the FTC's " Advertising and

Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road " (September 2000), the FTC

has interpreted " deceptive " to mean advertising that " is likely to

mislead consumers and affect consumers' behavior or decisions about the

product or service. " It is clear that using the term " pasteurization " in

lieu of " irradiation " is likely to mislead consumers and affect their

decisions about SureBeam's products.

We believe that SureBeam's advertisements meet all three elements of the

FTC Policy Statement on Deception (October 14, 1983). In the case of

SureBeam's use of " electronically pasteurized " in lieu of " irradiation, "

(1) the misrepresentation is likely to mislead the consumer; (2) the

misrepresentation is likely to mislead a reasonable consumer; and (3)

the misrepresentation is a material one.

We strongly urge the FTC to fully investigate this matter and exercise

any and all means to enjoin SureBeam Corp. from disseminating false

advertisements.

Sincerely,

Wenonah Hauter, Director, Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program,

215 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20003

Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director, Center for Food Safety 666

Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20003 Public Citizen

Pearl (NY)

[Guest guest]

Great Post Pearl.

Love,

Doc

 

Ian "Doc" Shillington N.D.505-772-5889Dr.IanShillington

 

-

PEARLY2

herbal remedies

Wednesday, July 11, 2001 2:17 PM

[herbal remedies] Important to Know ! Food Irradiation Deception!

How the Food Industry Wants to Fool You About Food Irradiation byChanging Its Name DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT: The following letter helps us understand the new strategy the industryis going to use. They are planning to put a spin on the wording andchange the term "irradiation" to "cold pasteurization". All of this isin the interest of improving consumer acceptance of this very dangeroustechnology. This reminds me of the MRI scans that we have now. When I was in medicalschool they were called NMR scans. This was short for nuclear magneticresonance scans. Although NMR is more technically accurate, it had asevere public image problem, so the term was changed to MRI. June 26, 2001 Mr. Donald S. Clark, Secretary U.S. Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20580 Re: False advertising complaint against SureBeam Corp. Dear Mr. Clark: Under the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act and Title 15 ofthe U.S. Code, Public Citizen and the Center for Food Safety hereby filea false advertising complaint against SureBeam Corp. This complaintrelates to the manner in which SureBeam recently advertised its serviceson the Internet. Based in San Diego, CA, SureBeam is a provider of food irradiationservices using linear accelerators. On May 24 and 25 of this year,SureBeam sponsored the "Daily Industry News" provided by theInternet-based news and information service, MEATingplace.com(www.meatingplace.com). These advertisements promoted SureBeam's"electronically pasteurized foods." These advertisements are misleadingbecause pasteurization and irradiation are distinctly differentprocesses. Pasteurization is a thermal process that was invented by Frenchmicrobiologist Louis Pasteur in 1864, when he discovered thatmicroorganisms could be killed by heating wine to 55° C for severalminutes. For decades it has been used successfully to decontaminatedairy products, fruit juice, beer and wine. Irradiation is an ionizingradiation process that was developed during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s,mainly through research conducted by the U.S. Army, which was looking for ways to better preserve food forsoldiers; by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, which was looking for non-militaryapplications of nuclear technology; and the U.S. Department of Energy,which was looking for ways to utilize the radioactive waste generated bythe production of nuclear weapons. In the case of SureBeam, the company uses a type of linear acceleratororiginally developed for the Strategic Defense Initiative to fireelectrons nearly to the speed of light, killing microorganisms bydisrupting their DNA. Though legal for nearly 40 years, food irradiationhas yet to be extensively integrated into commercial food production anddistribution systems. Accordingly, the American public has markedly different opinions aboutthe two processes. Pasteurization has been named in many public opinionpolls as one of the most trusted food safety technologies everdeveloped. Irradiation, however, is unfavorably looked upon: From 1998 to 2000, the percentage of shoppers who told the FoodMarketing Institute that they would buy irradiated food dropped from 79percent to 38 percent. According to a 1997 CBS News poll, 73 percent of people surveyed saidthat food should not be irradiated, and 77 percent said they would noteat irradiated food including 91 percent of women surveyed. According to a 1998-99 poll by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control,only about a fourth of those surveyed said they would be willing to paymore for irradiated ground beef and poultry. The fact that consumers hold negative attitudes toward irradiation wasechoed at a food irradiation conference held in Washington, D.C., Feb. 26-28. Brian Folkerts of the National Food Processors Association toldthe audience that "the word irradiation has a very negative connotation"that "is an impediment to the consumer acceptance of irradiated food."NFPA president Jeffrey Barach told the audience that irradiation "is avery pejorative term." It is clear that SureBeam is attempting to stimulate positive consumerresponses to irradiated food by invoking the word "pasteurization." Itis also clear that people who read SureBeam's advertisements on theMEATingplace.com are likely to believe that SureBeam providespasteurization services. Accordingly, SureBeam's use of "electronically pasteurized" isdeceptive. Title 15, Section 52 of the U.S. Code states that "it shallbe unlawful for any ... corporation to disseminate, or cause to bedisseminated, any false advertisement." Title 15, Section 55 defines "false advertisement" as an advertisementthat is "misleading in a material respect." Section 5 of the FTC Actprohibits "deceptive acts or practices." Sections 12 and 15 make thisprohibition applicable to food. According to the FTC's "Advertising andMarketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road" (September 2000), the FTChas interpreted "deceptive" to mean advertising that "is likely tomislead consumers and affect consumers' behavior or decisions about theproduct or service." It is clear that using the term "pasteurization" inlieu of "irradiation" is likely to mislead consumers and affect theirdecisions about SureBeam's products. We believe that SureBeam's advertisements meet all three elements of theFTC Policy Statement on Deception (October 14, 1983). In the case ofSureBeam's use of "electronically pasteurized" in lieu of "irradiation,"(1) the misrepresentation is likely to mislead the consumer; (2) themisrepresentation is likely to mislead a reasonable consumer; and (3)the misrepresentation is a material one. We strongly urge the FTC to fully investigate this matter and exerciseany and all means to enjoin SureBeam Corp. from disseminating falseadvertisements. Sincerely, Wenonah Hauter, Director, Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program,215 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20003 Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director, Center for Food Safety 666Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20003 Public Citizen Pearl (NY)Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington