Worse, according to Dr. George Tritsch, the remaining E.coli will be radiation-resistant, and no research has been done on the impact these new microorganisms will have on our health. It destroys nutrients and enzymes, and creates new radiolytic products, some of which are known to be carcinogenic and mutagenic. And the same technique is used to treat such foods as onions, fish, wheat, cereal grains, and spices in more than 40 other countries. Japan alone irradiates 15,000 to 20,000 tons of potatoes each year to inhibit spoilage due to sprouting. The most common complaint about irradiation, that it makes food radioactive, is simply false.
Irradiation makes food radioactive no more than a dental X-ray makes teeth radioactive.
Such comparisons are unscientific and meaningless. The use of irradiated disposable medical devices has nothing to do with the safety of consuming irradiated food. We have never said irradiation makes food radioactive, and nor have any other credible opponents of the technology. The U.S. government has approved the use of irradiation on pork to control trichina, and on poultry to curb salmonella. But its approval for beef has been held up at the Food and Drug Administration for more than three years.