September 8, 2004
Nebraska rejects irradiated beef
BY EMILY GERSEMA AND CHRIS CLAYTON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS
Nebraska and Minnesota schoolchildren won't get to eat irradiated
burgers anytime soon.
The reason? Price.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says suppliers are seeking to
provide irradiated beef to schools in the national lunch program for as
much as $2.50 per pound - about 75 cents more than conventional ground
beef.
Mike Harris, a Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
official, said Monday that the state decided to scratch all irradiated
beef orders for its schools and day-care centers because some of them
did not want to pay a high price.
"Schools are on a tight budget just like everyone else," Harris said.
Minnesota canceled requests by 93 schools for irradiated beef on Monday
for similar reasons, said Doug Gray, a spokesman for the Minnesota
Department of Education.
Both states said they were under pressure from the USDA to decide by
Monday whether to keep their orders for the meat.
Texas is the only other state ordering irradiated beef this year.
Nebraska's statewide cancellation was made just a few days after four
schools and one day-care center, the Offutt Air Force Base Child
Development Center, backed out of their orders.
"We canceled the order because we didn't know enough about irradiated
beef," said Senior Airman Vanessa Walsh, spokeswoman for the 55th Wing
at Offutt Air Force Base.
Tekamah-Herman Schools also canceled because of similar concerns, said
Superintendent Kevin Nolan.
Fears about irradiation surfaced more than two years ago when the USDA,
under orders from Congress, said irradiated beef would be made available
to schools. Parents and consumer groups opposed the move, demanding that
the government study the long-term health effects of irradiated food.
Irradiation involves directing electron beams or gamma rays at food to
rid it of harmful bacteria. Studies show that most of the radiation
passes through without being absorbed. The small remaining amount kills
bacteria.
The USDA and the Food and Drug Administration have deemed irradiation
safe. Food safety experts say it is one way to prevent consumers from
getting sick from E. coli and other bacteria that can cause food
poisoning. Proper cooking can kill most harmful germs.
The department estimated that irradiated beef would cost up to 20 cents
a pound more than untreated beef.
The first bid to supply irradiated ground beef to schools in the three
states came in at $2.50 a pound. The second was $2.25 a pound. The USDA
rejected both.
"This was considerably higher than what (the Agriculture Marketing
Service) had anticipated per pound," said Kathryn Mattingly, a
spokeswoman for the agency.
The 19,000 pounds of beef patties ordered by Minnesota schools first
were bid at $2.34 a pound and then dropped to $2.27. The price for
conventional beef patties is $1.81 a pound.
Those numbers vexed Ron Eustice, executive director of the Minnesota
Beef Council. An ardent supporter of irradiated beef, the council has
been advocating the technology's use in Minnesota. Contacted at the
Minnesota State Fair, where he was serving irradiated burgers, Eustice
said this "high-price nonsense" was going to change.
"I am working on it actually as we speak," Eustice said. "I expect the
price to be no more than 20 cents (difference) or even less than 20
cents a pound."
There are three dedicated suppliers of irradiated meat in the country,
but Mattingly said only one has been approved by the USDA to supply its
nutrition programs. She did not name the company.
The agency is tracking market prices while considering whether to
request new bids, she said.
Bennington Public Schools in Nebraska had ordered 820 pounds of
irradiated beef because local school board members hoped the sanitized
meat could prevent food poisoning, said Superintendent Terry Haack.
Harris said that schools like Bennington will now have to discuss
buying conventional beef instead.