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 Food irradiation techniques would save wastages of food in a large way. Thirty years of research and development work at the food technology division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre - BARC - had demonstrated that irradiation process of foods could contribute to the food security of the nation in a very significant manner. Addressing members of the CII - Confederation of Indian Industry - Dr.
D. R. Bongirwar, Head of food technology division, BARC, Mumbai, said that India was losing grains, cereals and pulses worth over Rs. 10,000 crores every year and it was still worse in the case of horticulture products. For example, fifty percent of cauliflowers grown perish because the country lacked in "Systematised Preservation Plans".
What the food lost in natural decay, post-harvest losses caused by insect infestation, microbial spoilage, contamination due to tropical climate, and physiological changes could have served or fed one-fifth of the population had those food items been saved with scientific preservation techniques. On fruits and vegetables India had faced another constraint of forty percent getting wasted since it had the capability of processing them only to the extent of less than one percent, while in the western countries about 40 percent of the "produced" get converted into "preservable" agro-products with excellent infrastructure facilities of food-processing.
 The technology developed by BARC - the irradiation technology had commercial potential for the conservation of cereals, pulses and their products, spices, onions, potatoes, tropical fruits, seafood, meat and poultry. And in fact the Govt. of India had permitted radiation processing for rice, wheat, semolina, sooji, rava, atta and maida flour, raisins, dried figs and dates, mangoes, spices, meat products including chicken, pulses, etc. BARC had identified, recommended and thereafter accepted by the food ministry, the recommended dosage of irradiation measured in "Kilo Grey" or KGY, ranging from 0.03 KGY to 0.15 KGY for the purpose of sprout inhibition in onions, potatoes and shallots, garlic and ginger. For insect disinfestations on rice, wheat and semolina, flour, raisins, figs, dried dates, and mangoes the dosage would be from 0.25 to a maximum of 0.75 only. For mangoes it is extension of shelf-life, postponement of ripening and quarantine treatment for export trade.
Irradiation dosage for meat, chicken and products towards shelf-life extension and pathogen control ranged from 2.5 to 4.0 KGY and only in the cases of spices towards the avoidance of microbial decontamination, the irradiation dosage was on the higher side, say from 6.0 to 14.0 KGY. The need for clamping irradiation technology if not other techniques were "absolutely essential" warned Dr. D.R. Bongirwar, since food-borne ailments attributed to 25 percent of deaths even in developed countries and the situation was worse in countries like India. The scientist made a clarion call for adoption of some technology in the grey area. In our country at the wake of WTO agreement, Indian farmers entered the global market to sell with caution, for chemical fumigants like methyl bromide, ethylene oxide, etc., had been banned throughout.
 More than 40 countries worldwide including India had approved irradiation for over 100 food items. And 30 of them are applying for commercial viabilities. China had at present forty centres of irradiation usage and in India there are 14 including two in private sectors. The scientist stresses the point that it was a need-based technology in India, that apart from the plus points being a system of very low power consumption, eco-friendly with less head emission, totally reliable, reduction in chemical exposure, the ability to process articles even after packing or cooking, and all this without an iota of change in taste and physical features from the original stuff.
A commercial demo plant had been already set up in Navi Mumbai - New Bombay - 20 tonnes per day unit set up by the Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology - BRIT - a constituent of the department of atomic energy. And civil works of the ten tonnes per hour irradiator centre for the treatment of onions in a village in Nasik district had already been completed and erection of machineries by BARC would take place soon. The commercial units are to go into operation before the end of 2001 serving to the needs of Nasik district in its 50-60 km radius, producing one fourth of the total onion production in the country.
 The unit of ten tonnes per hour would cost around Rs. Six crore only. And BARC is ready with all the expertise right from the stages of identifying the site, consultancy on civil works, designing the irradiator systems, fabricating, erection and even training personnel and taking care of after-sales-service. The cost of treatment could be to the tune of fifty paise per kg of fruits and vegetables, the advantage being the extension of shelf-life to another six months and in some cases even in room temperature conditions. The cost could be reduced further on the enhanced capacity of the irradiator plant, the optimum utility of the installed capacity and venturing into a co-op sector model. Briefly explaining the technical aspects, Dr.
D. R. Bongirwar added that food irradiation was the controlled application of energy from
radiation such as gamma rays, electrons and x-rays for food preservation.
P. Soundararajan
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