Irradiated Food ~ Child Nutrition Victory!     It worked!!  After all of your calls, faxes, and emails, Congress has passed the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization complete with language on irradiated food in the school lunch program!!   The bill was passed by the Senate June 23, 2004, and on June 24th  by the House.  The measures on irradiation include:   §          the bill requires that irradiated food only be made available at the request of state and local school systems – it cannot be mandated by USDA;   §          the bill states that irradiated food cannot to be subsidized by the federal government (this means that USDA cannot offset the increased costs of irradiated foods to encourage their use);   §          the bill requires that state and school food authorities are provided with factual information on irradiation, including notice that irradiation is not a substitute for safe food handling;   §          the bill requires irradiated foods distributed to federal meal programs to be labeled as irradiated.  (This measure ensures that school food service employees know that the food is irradiated.  It does not require the school to pass the labeling on to students, however.);   §          the bill prohibits the co-mingling of irradiated and non-irradiated foods;   §          the bill encourages schools using irradiated foods to offer a non-irradiated alternative.     Thank you for all of your efforts on this issue!   To read the entire bill, go to: http://agriculture.senate.gov/nutri/WEI04551_LC.pdf   Keep irradiated food out of your child's lunch!   Visit www.safelunch.org to find out more.