From: Schwetz, Bernard
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 6:42 PM
To: EXECSEC
Subject: FW: Irradiation Labeling, Docket No 98N-1038



> ----------
> From: 	lpinyan1@yahoo.com[SMTP:LPINYAN1@YAHOO.COM]
> Sent: 	Wednesday, February 21, 2001 6:41:51 PM
> To: 	bschwetz@oc.fda.gov
> Subject: 	Irradiation Labeling, Docket No 98N-1038
> Auto forwarded by a Rule
> 
> 
> 
Bernard A. Schwetz
Food and Drug Administration
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857

Dear Bernard A. Schwetz,

As a nutritionist I believe the interest of the public
is not best served by obscuring the fact that certain
food is irradiated. The nutritional value of irradieted
food is not the sole issue here. Rather, the public's
right to be informed and to decide what they wish to
purchase is the issue. 

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."
 

The function of the FDA should be to protect the interests
of the consumer, including the right to be informed,
rather than the financial interests of special interest
groups. 




Sincerely,


Laura Pinyan, M.S., C.N.S.
Director of Dietetic Services
Pacific Health Education Center
Bakersfield, California 93309