FDA Move Eases Rule for Irradiation Labels

Labels that inform consumers that foods have been treated with irradiation will no longer be as prominent under a new Food and Drug Administration rule. While companies will still have to inform consumers that food has been irradiated, the statements don’t have to be any more prominent than listings of ingredients, the FDA said. Under the previous rule, irradiation warnings were required to be “conspicuous and prominent,” a requirement generally understood to mean more prominent than ingredients. The agency’s action was expected and follows a mandate from Congress in an FDA overhaul law passed last year. Legislators said the agency’s rules on labeling were discouraging use of irradiation, a technology that uses gamma radiation to kill microorganisms and halt spoilage. An increase in the use of irradiation for food would be good news for companies such as Food Technology Service Inc., a Mulberry, Fla.-based irradiation specialist. In December, the FDA approved irradiation as a safe method to kill harmful bacteria in meat.