At present, there is no requirement that they do so, but trends are being watched carefully by the USDA and the industry to see if consumers will embrace the technology as a way to fight food borne pathogens. Ecoli and other bugs in meat products have been in the news with regularity during the past several years. As with genetics and biotechnology in production of crops, irradiation of meats has been controversial within the industry, but agriculture has taken the road to high tech in many areas in order to provide safe, high quality foodstuffs for worldwide distribution, and irradiation, approved by the FDA and now at least an option in the USDA rule book, may be the way to ensure safety in meat products as they pass from producer to packer to retailer to you and me. Critics have been worried that widespread use of irradiation would allow packers to relax their vigilance in other areas of safety, including cleanliness of plant and equipment. That seems unlikely.
Irradiation is just another tool to strengthen safety in meat.
USDA and other regulators will not relax cleanliness and food safety requirements already in use. In fact, the vast majority of meats purchased by American consumers are safe and clean. Irradiation, however, is the only way to kill the E. coli bacteria that may be in raw meat. Fears of radiation could keep customers away from such products, and it is estimated that irradiated beef will cost about five cents per pound more than untreated beef. The process can cause packaged beef to appear darker in the display case.