Prepackaged Dried Spices Radurised

I suppose I shouldn't be suprised but I am, not only suprised but shocked!

I have just been to the supermarket and bought a packet of Dried/Powdered Turmeric amongst other things, some of which were for my brother! Now I usually prefer to pack my own purchases and if I have bought for him as well I pack ours in separate packets, today I wasn't really focused on what I was doing and packed my Turmeric in with his goods, so when I got back to the ofiice (we work together) I was unpacking his and came across my Turmeric which I then put on my desk next to my screen so that I wouldn't forget to take it home after work!

I was sitting here and casually glanced at the packaging and the blurb on the side of the box and noticed "Ingredients: Dried Radurised Turmeric"! Correct me if I am wrong but isn't "Radurised" just a sanitised way of saying "Irradiated" but in such a way that it doesn't immediately light a big red light in your brain!

So here I am using Turmeric which has been irradiated and I use a lot of it because it is said to have anti-carcinogenic properties! Am I Instead of helping myself busy poisoning myself?

I googled the term and came up with this answer : Radiation of foods, etc, to prolong freshness. Considered to be dangerous.

What is the point of publishing the exact same post in three different places?

reply to post by incoserv


Because some people don't go to all the different forums as you so obviously do! You are I presume a moderator?

I believe that people should know what they are buying and putting into their bodies, if I need to post this in more than one Forum I will do so, if a moderator decides that I have placed it incorrectly they will I am sure take the appropriate steps! Feel free to report it!

Radurization is the application to food irradiation to foods using a dose of ionizing radiation sufficient to enhance its keeping quality by causing a substantial decrease in numbers of viable specific spoilage microorganisms. The required dose is in the range of 0.4 - 10 kGy.on what food product can be applied.[1]

Radurization

I knew they did this sort of thing, but I did not know they actually would label it. Why fight the people that want GMOs to be labeled, yet willingly label radiated food? Is this level of radiation even concern though? I would have to look further into it, there is a certain 'natural' radiation level which is harmless, also I consider that I don't know much about radiation in general if there are different kinds. Regardless, it is interesting and thanks for bringing this up.

Originally posted by wiser3
reply to post by incoserv

 

Because some people don't go to all the different forums as you so obviously do! You are I presume a moderator?

I believe that people should know what they are buying and putting into their bodies, if I need to post this in more than one Forum I will do so, if a moderator decides that I have placed it incorrectly they will I am sure take the appropriate steps! Feel free to report it!

edit on 17/4/13 by wiser3 because: (no reason given)

People should indeed be reading the labels of the things they intend to eat.

People who are not reading the labels of the foods they consume, most likely need helmets to stop them walking into low ceilings.

I know I would be very wary of anything that has been treated with this method of preservation/sanitising.

reply to post by winofiend


I agree, Winofiend and I do read the labels, I just stupidly never considered reading the labels on my dried spices before this as I thought I knew what they contained! But I will from now on read all labels on everything I buy!

There is a little icon that is present on irradiated food also along with the wording. Irradiated food has changes to it similar to cooking. I doubt if this would be good for turmeric though because turmeric has a lot of medical properties that may necessitate it's being not cooked when added to something. It is still better to have irradiation in some things than to have chemicals added though. I read some of the testing research articles on irradiation.

Anytime you cook something you are making carcinogens but our bodies and minds have adapted to these things. Cooking, or vibrating (microwave cooking), food sometimes changes the food positively though and the good exceeds the bad. When our microwave smoked up the house about three years ago we never bought a new one. Lived without one for half my life, seems to me living without one now is making me healthier. We tended to reheat food a lot when we have a microwave, that meant that we were further loosing nutrients. Sticking it in the oven till just warm is better, plus eating everything hot is not good for us. Cold stimulates stomach acid secretion so you get more nourishment from your food sometimes if you eat more things cold.

So to answer your question, I do not know if irradiation has an effect on spices. I doubt if testing results will be available for something like that. May make it worse....may make it better.

reply to post by rickymouse


Thanks for your reply rickymouse, I have checked the packaging and can't find any indication other than the word "radurised" which would have told me that the contents had been irradiated. Perhaps you could let me know exactly what it is that I should be looking for, I would appreciate it!

I do have a microwave oven but very seldom use it, it just alters the taste of everything that goes into it too much so it is only used in moments of emergency!

I had have a couple of surgeries including a skin transplant as I have skin cancer, "Squamous Cell Carcinoma" and this is one of the main reasons I like to use Turmeric, fresh (when I can get it) and dried, in many of the meals that I cook!


To add: Strangely I actually don't enjoy my food too hot and I very seldom drink hot drinks such as tea or coffee and if I do have a cuppa I let it cool down almost completely before I drink it! My friends all think that I am very strange, it amazes me when I see them pouring cups of piping hot tea or coffee down their throats, I could never do that!

Originally posted by wiser3
reply to post by rickymouse

 

Thanks for your reply rickymouse, I have checked the packaging and can't find any indication other than the word "radurised" which would have told me that the contents had been irradiated. Perhaps you could let me know exactly what it is that I should be looking for, I would appreciate it!

I do have a microwave oven but very seldom use it, it just alters the taste of everything that goes into it too much so it is only used in moments of emergency!

I had have a couple of surgeries including a skin transplant as I have skin cancer, "Squamous Cell Carcinoma" and this is one of the main reasons I like to use Turmeric, fresh (when I can get it) and dried, in many of the meals that I cook!

edit on 17/4/13 by wiser3 because: (no reason given)

To add: Strangely I actually don't enjoy my food too hot and I very seldom drink hot drinks such as tea or coffee and if I do have a cuppa I let it cool down almost completely before I drink it! My friends all think that I am very strange, it amazes me when I see them pouring cups of piping hot tea or coffee down their throats, I could never do that!

edit on 17/4/13 by wiser3 because: (no reason given)

Until I read about this, I thought the symbol meant something like eco-friendly or something. Oh well, it isn't the first time I have been fooled. Here is a link.... en.wikipedia.org... ..I wish I knew how to post a picture of the symbol to make people aware of this. Like I said, I don't think some things that are irradiated are bad but am sure it does change the properties of some things. You wouldn't think that bacteria or fungus could grow in turmeric Why do they even need to irradiate this spice/medicine

I know a guy who is plagued with skin cancer. After many surgeries his doctor told him that it is often the soaps that cause skin cancer and to not take so many showers with soaps. Using it on his private parts was ok because it lessened the surface area. It seems like your private parts and underarms would be the worse place. Between the legs and under arms are the areas where the drains for the lymph nodes are and by plumping them up with some soap additives, they would not drain properly. I take showers in plain water many times and use soaps about once a week unless I need to. I have an allergy to a chemical in many shampoos that makes my hair fall out. Getting shampoos without propylene glycol or similar chemistry in them is hard, I usually need to take a magnifying glass in the store to research this. As long as I don't eat vanilla and foods with this chemical in it I am less sensitive. seems to be an accumulative allergy

reply to post by wiser3


Do you mind taking a pic so we can see it for ourselves

(and no i dont mean pics or it didnt happen)

i think it may help people to see it in a different way

than just words

as in pics of packaging me give them the light bulb effect

ps s+f

reply to post by rickymouse


Thanks again rickymouse! I checked and the symbol doesn't appear on the packaging but then this is Africa and different standards apply I suppose so it doesn't suprise me, I know that this is the first time that I have actually seen the word Radurised not only on packaging but the first time I have seen the word!

Jip, I am now at the age where I too need to take at least a pair of reading glasses with me when I go shopping but it hasn't become a habit yet and I get quite p'd off at myself when I find myself with a basket full of goods and just about to go to checkout then I spot something that looks interesting but am unable to read a word on the label!

I will definitely be checking what's in my shampoo and soap, thanks for the advice! Much appreciated!

reply to post by maryhinge


I will do maryhinge, am at work right now and only phone camera on hand, the software of which isn't installed on my pc at work but I will definitely take a pic and post for you! This will only be tomorrow at the earliest as I don't have internet at home, too expensive here! Sorry about that!

reply to post by wiser3


It isn't our always our eyes, the letters on the packages have gotten smaller over the years because of the increase in the quality of the printing devices. People assume it is their age Even the young with excellent eyesight make mistakes when reading them and assume that an ite is an ate when looking at chemicals. We assume that we are seeing good chemistry since we like something

As for the soap thing, ask your doctor about it. The guy I know was only receiving standard treatment till the skin cancer was breaking out all over. Since he learned of this, he has slowed the progression of the cancer down but hasn't stopped it. Maybe it will make the rest of his life a little easier, he is in his seventies.

Been seeing this for years:



Never really understood what it meant. Thanks for bringing it up!

reply to post by wiser3


It's a new word for me too! I live in Canada and a lot of our food comes from the US. Every food cargo coming across the border is irradiated, and I would expect that the same applies to imports from other countries, including spices. I'm more alert now and try to buy locally produced foodstuffs although it's almost impossible to cut it out irradiated stuff altogether.

reply to post by maryhinge


Hi maryhinge

Thanks to edaced4 great pic, I have two from my packaging but not the same quality as yours and no symbol as in yours, and thanks aboutface for the reply, I will definitely be checking everything I buy even more carefully than I used to from now on>

Pic 1


Pic 2


My apologies for the quality but the text on the box is very small and the camera is not the greatest!

reply to post by wiser3


Hi, I'm fairly new here...just wanted to tell you I've been getting my herbs, including tumeric (which is organic) from bulkherbstore.com....they're great....been using them for years....
krissy