The chaps here are completely obsessed with germs. Scaremongering tactics (probably orchestrated by the bleach industry) have made all Americans terrified of actually touching something that someone else might have touched. Many carry around sanitising spray in case they have to touch a door handle and even supermarkets have sanitising wipes for the trolleys *sigh*.
That’s probably why there’s a very different attitude towards irradiation. I recently read an article that expressed concern that salads mostly don’t yet benefit from being zapped to get rid of all those possible germs. I guess I’m used to the European opinion – why on Earth would you want your food to be nuked before you eat it? That’s completely crazy – just buy and eat it as fresh as possible. My mind was made up on irradiation when I lived in Berlin. I left a pack of tomatoes in the fridge – and forgot about it for around 6 – 8 weeks. After this time the tomatoes looked just the same as when I had bought them. I threw them away and have steered clear of irradiated food ever since.
This whole germ thing is irritating though. We’ve survived for centuries with germs – after all, how does your body learn to deal with the big ones if it isn’t tested along the way? That’s why people today have more asthma, more allergies, and a greater susceptibility to the likes of MRSA. Let them eat dirt I say.