Follow the money. I suspect that the real motive for irradiation is not to prevent food-borne illness (our benefit) at all, it is to extend the shelf life of 'fresh' foods (their benefit). Of course, irradiation does nothing to reduce chemical residues, and the food is immediately subject to recontamination through handling by packers, stockers, customers, and checkout operators at the store.

All fruits and vegetables, including bagged fresh vegetables like carrots, peppers, and celery should be thoroughly washed at home prior to eating whether organic or not.

The best defense is is to assume that all foods may cause food-borne illness.

Wash your hands, food preparation surfaces, and utensils thoroughly before and after handling raw foods.

Process foods like chicken, fish, and meat on a sterile surface away from ready-to-eat foods like lettuce. Do not cross-contaminate while you prepare dinner.

Do not place raw meat, chicken, fish, etc on top shelves in your refrigerator. they can drip down on lettuce, butter etc and cause food-borne illnesses.

Know the bacteria growth 'danger zone'...between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F......Keep refrigerated foods below 40 degrees F. Serve hot foods immediately or keep them heated above 140 degrees F.

Divide large volumes of hot food into smaller portions for rapid cooling in the refrigerator.

Follow approved home-canning procedures. These can be obtained from your County Extension Service or from USDA bulletins.

Heat home-canned foods thoroughly before tasting.

When in doubt, throw it out