From: jabex@mac.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 6:12 AM
To: fdadockets@oc.fda.gov
Subject: Irradiation Labeling, Docket No 98N-1038



Food and Drug Administration, Dockets Management Branch
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20857

Dear Food and Drug Administration, Dockets Management Branch,

"Irradiated" food, is a term most Americans, through
the media, have come to know.  The process of irradiation
is called irradiation, and should be reflected as such
on food labels. 

I'm not the only one who feels this way. An independent
opinion poll in 1999, commissioned by the American
Association of Retired Persons and the Center for Science
in the Public Interest, showed overwhelming support
for the term "Treated by Irradiation," instead of "Electronically
Pasteurized" or "Cold Pasteurized." Just as consumers
want label information about "dolphin-safe tuna" or
"low fat" foods, they also want clear information on
irradiated food.  

Please don't change the current sensible label. Informed
choice is part of a free-market economy. Some shoppers
want to buy irradiated foods because they want foods
with lower pathogen risks. Other shoppers may avoid
irradiated foods because of changes in taste, smell,
texture, or nutrition, or for other reasons. FDA should
not stand in the way of consumers making those choices
by putting confusing new labels on irradiated food.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I
expect you will understand and appreciate my expression
of these views.  I look forward to your decision, as
I know it will be the sensible choice. 



Sincerely,


Jon Bexell
3 East 3rd Street #24
New York, New York 10003