On Food and Cooking

microbes and more than double the shelf life
of carefully wrapped refrigerated meats.
There is, however, a characteristic radiation
flavor, described as metallic, sulfurous, and
goaty, which may be barely noticeable or
unpleasantly strong.
Beginning in 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has approved irradiation to
control a number of pathogens in meat: first
trichinosis in pork, then salmonella in
chickens, and E. coli in beef. A treatment like
irradiation is an especially valuable form of
insurance for the mass production of ground
meats, in which a single infected carcass can
contaminate thousands of pounds of meat, and
affect thousands of consumers. But its use
remains limited due to consumer wariness.
Decades of testing indicate that irradiated
meat is safe to eat. But one other objection is
quite reasonable. If meat has been
contaminated with enough fecal matter to
cause infection with E. coli, then irradiation