New Delhi (PTI): Paving way for safe mango exports in 2009, the irradiation facility of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Lasalgaon in Maharastra's Nasik district will start its operation from April 13, a government body said.
"The irradiation plant of BARC at Lasalgaon is the only such facility for mango exports in the country. It will start operation from April 13," a senior official at the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) said.
Irradiation is a modern food preservation technology that can reduce the risk of food poisoning, control food spoilage and extend shelf-life of food.
The process got a shot in the arm when the US decided to import Indian mangoes in 2008. The US prefers irradiation to get rid of an insect pest mango seed weevils and fruit fly from the fruits.
The US quarantine inspector, on behalf of American importers, will be visiting the plant on April 10 to check the procedure of irradiation and also ensure that Indian mangoes do not carry any specific pest, an Indian plant quarantine official said.
The BARC plant, which has a capacity of 500 tonnes, will begin irradiation of mangoes grown in the current season in the next ten days, an Apeda official said.
At present, the Alphonso variety of mangoes are being harvested in Maharashtra. Only quality fruits are irradiated for export purpose, he said.
Mango production in 2009 season (April-September) is likely to be low as the crop has failed due to erratic climate, he said, adding that currently the crop loss cannot be quantified.
During the 2008 mango season, India exported 143 tonnes of mangoes to the US valued at Rs 2 crore approximately. Export volumes remained low as the quality of the fruit was affected by unseasonal rains while exporters too faced problems of high costs of compliance and freight, among others.
Source : The Hindu