990342 Florida Companies May be First with Irradiated Beef

Mulberry, FL - Two Florida companies announced that they expect to be the first firms in the U.S. to market irradiated meat products for consumers.

This agreement between Food Technology Service Inc. (FTSI) and Colorado Boxed Beef Co. (CBBC) follows from the USDA's recently released draft regulations for meat irradiation on Feb. 24th.

“This is an American first for food safety,” declared Pete Ellis, president and CEO of FTSI. “Irradiating beef, to eliminate harmful bacteria, is comparable to the approval of pasteurization for dairy products.”

The agreement to share FTSI's experience and knowledge in irradiation processing with the successful manufacturing and distribution expertise of CBBC should expedite the availability of irradiated meat products as soon as the USDA final regulations are published.

“Our customers will appreciate the additional steps we are taking to deliver quality safe meat products to the American consumer,” added Steve Saterbo, senior vice president of Colorado Boxed Beef Co.

Colorado Boxed Beef Co., Auburndale, Fla., is a $600 million sales company, specializing in manufacturing, processing and distributing beef products in the southeast. CBBC also operates a distribution facility in Atlanta.

Food Technology Service Inc. operates a food irradiation facility in Mulberry dedicated to enhancing the safety and quality of beef, poultry and seafood by destroying harmful bacteria in these products.

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