Insect disinfestation contributes to serious post-harvest losses of dried fruit in many countries. The use of irradiation as an alternative to the use of chemical fumigants is attractive.
Irradiation also used to disinfestation and decontamination of other foods such as spices.
Radiation procedures are expensive and generally require stationery equipment and extensive safety precautions.
Radiation disinfestations and shelf-life extension can reduce the food losses of fresh foods. A great deal of the postharvest losses due to insect infestation can be controlled and minimized by irradiating foods such as grains, pulse, tubers and fruits.
The effect of radiation is based on photochemical reactions and on the generation of radicals, ions and their reaction products. These interfere with the metabolism of living cells, thus leading to cell death.
Numerous commodities have been treated with gamma radiation to disinfect stored product insects. An advantage of radiation processing of food over thermal pasteurization processes is that the former does not change the flavor of the food product.
Radiation infestation
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