ABSTRACT
The time has come for government at all levels to re-examine laws and regulations promulgated by a phobic fear that are in the midst of a cancer epidemic which is a consequence of radiation and man-made carcinogens. The "Delaney Clause" of 1959, which prohibits the use of any food additive that at any dose level produces cancer in any animal, should be replaced with laws and regulations that would permit the establishment of a de minimis for potentially toxic substances. An amount so low as not to be of regulatory concern could be that for which any possible effect would be hidden in the "noise of the system", that is, the random variation in natural disease processes or the variability of carcinogens found naturally in food. The use of irradiation of food to preserve and protect it from contaminants is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), since irradiation is considered to result in "food additives".
