April 11, 2014 — The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it will allow processors to irradiate shellfish to kill harmful pathogens.
The agency said the approval, based on a petition from the National Fisheries Institute, follows a food safety assessment that determined that the process poses no adverse health risks and does not destroy nutrients.
The rule applies to raw, frozen, cooked, partially cooked, shelled or dried crustaceans. It also covers cooked or ready-to-cook crustaceans processed with spices or small amounts of other food ingredients.
The process involves zapping food with small amounts of ionizing radiation.