Spice, chicken, beef, and now irradiated eggs

By KRIS HUNDLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 7, 2000

Food Technology Service Inc. finally may be cracking the market.

The Polk County company has been irradiating food for eight years. Problem is, acceptance has been slow for food that's been zapped with gamma rays even though the process destroys bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella and often extends the food's shelf life.

But that may be changing. After years of irradiating spices, produce and chicken for the institutional market, the company introduced irradiated ground beef to the public. Last month, it agreed to treat eggs for Hillandale Farms, the largest egg producer in Florida.

John Hammond, Hillandale's vice president, said it will be November before the FDA approves labeling for irradiated eggs. Though irradiation may add up to 15 cents to the price of a dozen eggs, he doesn't think that will hurt sales.

"We expect irradiated eggs to be 5 to 12 percent of our output," said Hammond, whose Lake City company sells 3.6-million cases of eggs annually to supermarkets throughout the Southeast. "I'm sure it will become widespread because the big focus is on food safety."

Hillandale said Food Technology will help spread the word that irradiation is good for you. Assisting in that marketing effort will be a recent addition to Food Technology's board, Thomas Daw, a retired Con-Agra executive. Daw's claim to fame: former head of sales for Butterball turkey and the man who brought shoppers "Country Pride" prepackaged poultry.

His next challenge: coming up with a consumer-friendly moniker for eggs exposed to gamma radiation produced by cobalt 60.

Unlikely choices: Radio-Eggtive and Glow-Globes.

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