[candaceomgz]

hi, i recently found a cat treat by beefeaters, freeze dried salmon chunks. click here to view product they seem legit since theyre simply freeze dried salmon chunks, nothing else. however, it says that it has been treated by irradiation. i heard this process can be deadly for cats. does that only apply to certain brands or is irradiation in general something to stay away from? my cat loves these treats but im not sure if i should continue to feed it to him... any help or info is appreciated!

[acerlt]

Hello and welcome! Your have brought up an interesting question.

I found this info on the irradiation of food:

Food is irradiated to provide the same benefits as when it is processed by heat, refrigeration, freezing or treated with chemicals to destroy insects, fungi or bacterial that cause food to spoil or cause human disease and to make it possible to keep food longer and in better condition in warehouses and homes.

3. Does irradiation make food radioactive?

No. Radioactivity in foods can occur by two routes: contamination of foods with radioactive substances or by penetration of energy into the nuclei of the atoms that make up the food.

The irradiation process involves passing food through an irradiation field; however, the food itself never contacts a radioactive substance. Also, the ionizing radiation used by irradiators is not strong enough to disintegrate the nucleus of even one atom of a food molecule.

source and additional info in this link:

Food Irradiation

However, when I googled "irradiation of pet food" I came up with a whole slew of links saying that irradiation of pet food is dangerous.

I guess I wouldn't risk it, myself.

thanks for bringing this important issue up.

.

[candaceomgz]

thank you!!! that was very informative. i guess ill just throw it away. i dont wanna do anything ill regret.. thanks again and i hope this helped someone else