FOOD NOTES
LEAD:  Irradiation Debate
Irradiation Debate
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, will sponsor a debate on food irradiation at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington on Oct. 21. The all-day forum will examine the advantages and disadvantages of irradiation as a method of preserving food.
Participants will include members of the House as well as representatives of the health professions and environmental and research institutes. Judith Randal, the health columnist for Newsday, and Cass Peterson, the environmental reporter for The Washington Post, will participate, with Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest as moderator.
Registration is $140 for private individuals or companies; $80 for Government or university employees, and $40 for students or those from nonprofit organizations. A 25 percent discount is offered for registering before Sept. 30. To register or obtain more information write to Claire Suen, Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1501 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036; 202-332-9110.  Sardinian Specialties
Bloomingdale's latest geographic extravaganza, which opened last week, is called 'Mediterranean Odyssey.' The focus is on France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Turkey and Israel, in everything from clothes to crafts.
But in the food department, it seems to be business as usual because these countries are routinely represented, especially France and Italy with their olive oils, cheeses and preserves. The region given the most exposure for its food in this new promotion is Sardinia, a case of the tail wagging the dog, but quite an interesting taste all the same.
In the bakery, for example, there are close to 100 different breads, sweets and pastries from the seven countries. Among the foods imported from Sardinia are cookies laced with honey and nuts, sesame seed and honey korikeddos, and honey-almond sugattos, all for $12.50 a pound. Carta Musica bread, a tasty, giant parchmentlike round, is $5, and is so fragile that it must either be carefully broken before wrapping or eaten on the spot.
Plump canned Sardinian sardines are $2 for 4 ounces. Assorted dry pastas, also from Sardinia, include tricolored gnocchetti, at $4 a pound.
For those with esoteric recipes, there is dried grated bottarga, the roe of gray mullet, at $30 for 3.5 ounces. Deliciously tangy Sardinian sheep-milk cheeses are $6.50 a pound, and there is an excellent French sheep-milk cheese from the Pyrenees for $13.99 a pound.
Mediterranean specialties are also featured at the prepared food counter.  A Grand Tasting
After five years in San Francisco the Wine Experience - a weekend of tastings, lectures and dinners organized by the Wine Spectator, a biweekly wine publication - will be held in New York. In the future it will alternate between the two coasts.
This year's event will be held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel at Broadway and 45th Street from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1. Tickets are available for the grand tastings, identical events held Oct. 30 and 31 from 7 to 10 P.M., when more than 125 wines from around the world can be sampled. Admission to either tasting is $125. For tickets or information write to the Wine Spectator, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016; 212-684-4224.  Culinary Folklore
Jewish food customs and traditions are examined in several articles in a special issue of The Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review, published in time for the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Articles in the 40-page illustrated journal include information about food customs in contemporary Jewish communities, traditions in food based on interviews with immigrants and the history of Jewish charity cookbooks in the United States and Canada.
The journal also reports on the relationship between food and Jewish culture. To order the issue, send $7 and $1 for postage to Dr. Shalom Staub, Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review, 212 Montrose Street, Harrisburg, Pa. 17110.  'State of Freshness'
The office of Governor Cuomo has declared October to be 'State of Freshness' month in New York. And the budget for the program that certifies the quality of potatoes, eggs, onions and apples produced in the state - called the 'Seal of Quality' - has been increased from $500,000 to $1.3 million for next year.
The seal of quality assures consumers that the products meet certain standards of size, uniformity, texture and soundness. Random inspections are conducted at the time of shipping and when the products reach the stores in order to qualify for the seal of quality.
Twenty supermarket chains that represent 80 percent of the retailers in the state, including the D'Agostino chain in the city, are cooperating with the program and will carry products with the seal of quality.  A Tradition Reworked
A felicitous encounter between Old World Jewish and trendy American took place over Labor Day weekend on the barbecue grill at the home of Leslie Newman, a screenwriter.
Mrs. Newman grilled slices of stuffed derma, a Jewish specialty that is also called kishka. It is made of beef sausage casing filled with fat, vegetables, spices and matzoh meal, and is usually fried or baked. It is certainly never served with peppery salsa - until now.
The grilling released some of the fat and imparted to the crusty slices a deliciously smokey flavor. Mrs. Newman's favorite source for stuffed derma is Fine & Schapiro, 138 West 72d Street.