Just finished reading an article about how raw alfalfa sprouts easily spread e-coli, but the problem could be solved by irradiation. So why don’t we?
After all, the US is the land of GMO, pesticides, washed eggs, chlorinated chicken, and pasteurized dairy. How could irradiated produce be any worse?
We do irradiate various foods, have been doing it for many years. The commenters who immediately started ranting about “how stupid we are” didn’t seem to check first. I first learned that we did it with strawberries and a few other things many years ago (in the 90’s maybe), but never bothered to looked up exactly what all foods we irradiate. So I don’t know about alfalfa sprouts, but I suppose there are probably reasons why it’s done with some things and not others, such as which ones it’s safer and/or more effective on, and how it affects the quality of different foods.
We can, but I suspect we don’t because the disclosure requirements would hurt sales. Without massive public education campaigns to convince people that it’s not as stupid as letting kids play with Xray machines every time they went to the shoe store up until the 1970s, people will be unsure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-fitting_fluoroscope
Since ionizing radiation from medical procedures, nuclear weapons and reactors is a known cause of cancer [ www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation ], it would be quite a project to get the entire US public to believe that exposing your food to the process is different than exposing your body to it.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/irradiation-and-food-safety-faq