Society News Archive

4 April 2007

FDA Proposes Rule to Change Requirements for Labeling Irradiated Food Products

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in the Federal Register that it is proposing to revise its labeling regulations applicable to foods (including dietary supplements) for which irradiation has been approved by the FDA. FDA is proposing that only those irradiated foods in which the irradiation causes a material change in the food, or a material change in the consequences that may result from the use of the food, bear the radura logo and the term ‘‘irradiated,’’  in conjunction with explicit language describing the change in the food or its conditions of use. FDA is also proposing to allow a firm to  petition FDA for use of an alternate term to ‘‘irradiation’’ (other than  ‘‘pasteurized’’). In addition, FDA is proposing to permit a firm to use the term ‘‘pasteurized’’ in lieu of ‘‘irradiated,’’ provided it notifies the agency that the irradiation process being used meets the criteria specified for use of the term  ‘‘pasteurized’’ in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act).

Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by 3 July 2007.