Current situation of food irradiation in the European Union and forthcoming harmonization

There have been efforts, since 1986, to harmonize the law of the Member States with regard to food irradiation; but only in 1999, a Directive was adopted. It includes, at present, only a single item, spices; and it enforces strict labelling, The European Commission was charged to develop a final 'positive list' of permitted items until the end of 2000; and the contents of this list are still under dispute between member states today. The Member States had to implement the provisions of the Directive in 2000; however, only a few states completed their legal procedures. As long as the 'positive list' is not adopted, Member States can maintain their existing regulations except for spices. This whole picture must be put in the context of the existing General Standard for Irradiated Foods of the Codex Alimentarius, which does not allow for the exclusion of specific food items. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.