The Department of the Army's Food Irradiation Program: Is It Worth Continuing?

Food irradiation technology, being developed by the Department of the Army, uses high doses of radiation to sterilize meat and poultry products. In the last 25 years, the Department of Defense has spent about $51 million on research on this technology. Food irradiation is classified with food additives and requires Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval before its public use.