07 June 2009

Cat Food Irradiation Banned in Australia


Food irradiation is basically the process of passing radiation through food in order to sterilize it and make it safe for consumption. Irradiation rids most foods of disease harboring microbes like E. Coli. When companies were first trotting it out to the consumer, it was referred to as a miracle in many parts of the globe where people die due to disease harboring microbes.


Of course, as often is the case, irradiated foods have become both controversial and deadly. Recently, in Australia, there have been a number of cat deaths. Initially, these deaths were mysterious, and then, Dr. Georgina Child, put two and two together.

Dr. Child found that Orijen cat for was the common bond between the cats. Orijen is manufactured in Canada, and is subjected to very high doses of radiation before it is considered safe for animal consumption.

Dr. Child believes that the high doses of radiation is altering the food enough to cause neurological damage in certain cats. At this point, she doesn't know why this is causing a problem.

Much of the produce we consume goes through irradiation and while it is still considered safe, this is something that bears watching from the general public.

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1 comment:

Halordimash said...

I cannot find anywhere that a causal connection or even a significant correlation has been made between the cat deaths and the irradiation. I haven't even found a guess as to how it could be connected. The vet noticed that they had all eaten the same brand of cat food and noticed that that brand was irradiated. No trouble was found with any other brand of irradiated cat food or other food. Of course the cat food maker was glad enough to blame the irradiation because, being a government requirement, that relieves them of any responsibility for what was wrong with their product. My first guess would be that it was a bad batch contaminated with a material unrelated to irradiation.