Canada mulls allowing meat irradiation

OTTAWA, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- With an ongoing national outbreak of deli meat contamination, the Canadian government said it is considering allowing meat to be irradiated.

This week, as Maple Leaf Foods recalled more than 220 cooked deli products because of a listeriosis outbreak linked to a Toronto plant, the Health Canada agency announced it was considering approving irradiation by early 2009, the Toronto Star reported Friday.

The listeria outbreak is linked to 15 deaths in five provinces.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved meat irradiation in 2000, seven years after an outbreak of E. coli 0157, in fast food hamburgers, the report said.

Dennis Olson, a professor of animal science at Iowa State University and an international expert on irradiation, told the Star he was puzzled why Canada has waited so long to endorse irradiation, as it's approved in more than 50 countries and has been endorsed by the World Health Association.

"It's become obvious that a catastrophe has to happen before the technology can move forward," Olson said.