Technology gains acceptance A recent Consumers’ Association study suggests 67 percent of Canadians want irradiation technology put to use
Canadian consumers are ready to accept food irradiation, a consumer lobbyist told a parliamentary committee recently.
Consumers’ Association of Canada president Bruce Cran told the Senate agriculture committee that consumers overwhelmingly see the once-controversial irradiation technology as one answer to their food safety worries.
He said Canada spent $86 million to develop the technology several decades ago, but it has never been put into widespread use. Instead, technology developed here is now being used in the United States.
“We just did a survey on that (and) we know that 67 percent of Canadians would like to see that available as an option,” he said.
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“This technology is available to us now and would be the single most obvious factor that I can think of to improve agricultural products in Canada if it were available.”
He said irradiated food should be properly labelled. A limited number of Canadian products are now eligible for irradiation.
“We hear from Canadians who say they would rather have irradiated food than risk dying or being sickened by E. coli or listeria, both of which are killed by irradiation,” he said.
Consumers’ Council of Canada board member Elizabeth Nielsen said her members are concerned about the safety of imported food.
“Consumers express concern over the fact that 70 percent of Canadian food and products are imported from 190 countries with various levels of food safety controls,” she said.
“Although the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is planning to introduce new regulations to better control imported products, consumers are not confident in government’s ability to oversee the safety of these products.”
She said a recent consumer survey by Underwriters Laboratories found that 74 percent of consumers are concerned about food safety.
Nielsen also argued that consumers find current labelling requirements inadequate.
“Unfortunately, current food labels leave consumers confused and ill-informed.”
She said governments make little effort to involve consumers in policy or regulatory planning.
Neilsen noted that she took part in consultations on planned changes to CFIA policy and practices.
“I was the only consumer there at the table, and I felt very much that the whole thing was manipulated, that decisions had been made prior to the consultation and there was really no opportunity to provide a policy analysis or consumer input into the process.”
Cran said he thinks his work as a consumer representative on Agriculture Canada’s Science Advisory Board has made a difference on policy development.
