Category Archives: Uncategorized

Australian company caught selling unlabelled irradiated products

An Australian company busted for not labelling irradiated spices! Thanks to Western Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and his trusty crew. Senator Ludlam asked: What are the irradiation labelling requirements for imported food? For example, where a box containing individual packets of meat curry premix for wholesale sale is labelled as irradiated, but the individual [...]

Court challenge to persimmon proposal sees injunction

Food Irradiation Watch supports Gene-Ethics and the Safe Food Institute in their Federal Court challenge to Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s (FSANZ) processing of Application A1038. Yesterday thecourt placed an injunction on the irradiation of persimmons. The Bi-National food authority failed to clearly notify the public of its own insertions of major changes to laws [...]

GeneEthics challenges Food Irradiation standard in federal court

Gene Ethics started proceedings in court challenging Food Standards Australia over thier failure to give public notice of an attempted change to food labelling and lack of public notice of changes to a proposal for the irradiation of persimmons.  The case highlights the lack of scrutiny being given food approvals, and irradiation in particular. Below [...]

FI Watch calls on Food Standards to reject further irradiation approvals, retain labelling provision

We are calling on Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to halt all further approvals of food irradiation and retain and strenghen the obligation on producers to label irradiated products.  We are calling on our supporters to write to their local members and health ministers ask for the same.  Consumers don’t want to eat irradiated [...]

Another approval pushed through

In July 2011 Food Standards Australia approved the irradiation of persimmons with a devious back door process that would have removed the legal requirement for labelling. Consumers would have been deprived of the right to choose irradiated foods if this part of the application had been approved.  While labelling requirements were not removed, the labelling [...]

Cat deaths raise questions for human health

2008-9 up to 100 cats became ill, paralyzed and many died as a result of eating imported cat food that had been irradiated.  The irradiation process changed the structure of oils in the foods, which caused the breakdown of the myelin nerve sheath, causing neurological problems and in extreme cases death. As a result the [...]

Madura Tea joins irradiation-free status!

Australian company Madura Tea are the latest brand name to commit to irradiation-free status of their popular teas. They have committed to use only non-irradiated ingredients in all of their products. Madura have gone further to state that they will also not be using irradiated packaging on their products. We welcome them and they will [...]

Irradiation Free Food Guide 3rd edition in production

FI Watch is calling on Australian and New Zealand food producers to develop irradiation-free policies and be listed in our ever popular Irradiation Free Food Guide. YOU can help! 1.  Write to your favourite brands and ask them if they have an irradiation-free policy 2.  Ask your local supermarket or health food store if they [...]