The first irradiated meat should be available in supermarkets within a few weeks. It remains to be seen whether wary shoppers will buy it. CBS News Consumer Correspondent Herb Weisbaum reports. The government has given processors the go-ahead to irradiate any uncooked beef, lamb or pork. Consumers can expect to see ground beef irradiated first because it is the most likely meat product to make you sick if it is contaminated with harmful bacteria.
Irradiation is something new in the ongoing fight against food poisoning.
In this process, meat is zapped with energy beams to kill dangerous bacteria, like E.coli 0157.H7. On Irradiation Answers to common consumer questions. Before Seattle's Jack in the Box incident of 1993, few consumers had heard of E.coli 0157.H7, the bacteria that made Brianne Kiner and hundreds of others sick. Kiner is lucky to be alive. An under-cooked hamburger nearly killed her.