The growing problem of food poisoning: Is irradiation the answer?
In December 1997, FDA approved the use of irradiation for the decontamination of red meat. This approval came only four months after 25 million pounds of Hudson Foods hamburger was recalled due to contamination by potentially deadly bacteria. Despite the fears raised by anti-irradiation activists, scientists and the FDA assure the public that this process neither makes food radioactive nor toxic.
It is estimated that there are between 6.5 and 81 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States every year, causing approximately 9000 deaths. Scientists believe this number is grossly underestimated, because foodborne illnesses often go undiagnosed. Millions of cases are never reported because many people assume they have a "24-hour bug". But, in some cases, symptoms are much more serious and can spawn dreadful consequences. Recent examples of the dangers of foodborne illnesses include:
Undercooked hamburgers from the fast food restaurant chain Jack-in-the-Box contaminated with E-coli O157:H7 left four children dead.
Guatemalan raspberries carried the parasite cyclospora to 1,500 people; 22 required hospitalization.
Hepatitis A-tainted Mexican strawberries that found their way into the school lunch program.
In recent years, scientists have traced nearly 80% of all E-coli bacterial contamination in the US to hamburger alone.
Anna Wilde Mathews and Zachary Goldfarb of the Wall Street Journal report that fearing that the animal drug Baytril -- used to fight infections in chickens -- could pose health risks to humans, the Food and Drug Administration decided to ban its use in poultry.
A dead lizard found in food created panic among the 250-odd children of a childcare centre at Ambattur. These children, who were undergoing free tuitions at the centre, are usually served dinner after their classes.
Per the CP News Wire in Moscow, Chief state epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko was cited as telling a news conference Tuesday that at least 17 people have died in Russia from eating poisonous mushrooms so far this year, fewer than during similar periods over the previous four years, and that authorities have recorded 179 cases of people falling ill from eating mushrooms this year, including 21 children,. At least four of the dead were children.
Sun staff writer Robert Mills reports that New Hampshire public-health officials were investigating what caused about 60 Boy Scouts at a local Boy Scout camp, Wah-Tut-Ca Reservation -- where several local troops may have been staying -- to become ill yesterday. 
Democrat Staff Writer Amanda Dumond reports that state health officials are investigating what caused 60 Boy Scout campers and their leaders to get sick on Monday morning.
Heather McAvoy of The Daily Herald reports that while vegetables and fruit are well known for their powerful health-protecting benefits, what is less well known is that these valuable foods can also be sources of food poisoning when they are not properly handled. 
If 25 people eating at a single banquet hall became sick and needed hospitalization, determining the cause could be as easy as checking the dinner menu. But if those same people were scattered across 20 states and became ill after eating food processed at a single site, identifying the link could sometimes be impossible.
The New Hampshire Health Department is trying to figure out what made dozens of Boy Scout campers sick on Monday. Sixty campers out of 200 at the Boy Scout camp in Northwood came down with diarrhea and stomach cramps Monday morning. Health officials said that the children were feeling better by the afternoon.
A story from this weekend's Globe and Mail, by Beppi Crosariol:
