Quotable Quotes:
The government of Sri Lanka will setup its modern multi purpose Gamma Irradiation facility to assist exporters to irradiate and sterilize their products to compete with global competitors.

Prof. Tissa Vitharana, Sri Lanka Science Minister

"The advantage (of irradiation) is that the irradiation does not leave residues in the products, if applied in the recommended doses. This is not the case with the use of pesticides, for example." (Irradiation) will allow Brazil to have access to new markets, especially for fresh fruit. Mangoes are one of the fruits that can benefit from the process. Costa affirms that Brazil exported 115 thousand tons of mangoes to foreign markets in 2005 alone and earned US$ 76 million from this activity.

Fernando Costa, Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture coordinator of vegetable transport inspection

"The future of the (irradiation) plant falls largely into three categories: one-third feed and feed ingredients, one-third ground beef and other foods and one-third animal care products and pet food and treats such as dog bones and pigs ears."  Harlan E. Clemmons, Sadex president and chief operating officer

"Consumers, pet treat makers, public health officials, and healthcare providers should be aware of the risk of contracting Salmonella from pet treats. Pet treat makers should take steps to kill bacteria, such as heat treatment or irradiation, and should put production information on labels. " Centers for Disease Control

In This Update:

Brazil may use irradiation for pest control

New phytosanitary rules in Brazil
Sri Lanka gets first gamma irradiation facility
Irradiation’s “speed” achieves feed, food safety

Pet treats may carry Salmonella, CDC warns

Obasanjo to launch Gamma Irradiation facility in Nigeria

Sri Lanka government to setup Multi Purpose Gamma Irradiation facility
Effects of gamma irradiation on the biological activity of green tea byproduct extracts and a comparison with green tea leaf extracts
Effect of low-dose radiation on microbiological, chemical, and sensory characteristics of chicken meat stored aerobically at 4 degrees C.

Nine Miss Florida contestants hospitalized after bout with diarrhea, nausea

Brasília - A new technology capable of controlling pests in products of vegetable origin without affecting the products may soon be adopted in Brazil. The technology is ionizing irradiation, which consists in irradiating the products with electron energy sources, a type of light capable of eliminating the structures of pests, insects, mites, bacteria, and even viruses.

The Ministry of Agriculture held a meeting to discuss the proposed Normative Instruction that will regulate the use of ionizing irradiation. The meeting was attended by representatives of the National Nuclear Energy Council (CENEN), the Center of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), and researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP).

The ministry's coordinator of vegetable transport inspection, Fernando Costa, said that the method will be used as "a sanitary treatment for plant products for quarantine purposes," that is, only for the elimination of pests that might be harmful to export and import products. If it is approved, the irradiation will be used in foreign trade operations passing through the country's ports and airports.

According to Costa, various countries use this method to control pests in vegetable products. The advantage, he says, is that the irradiation does not leave residues in the products, if applied in the recommended doses. This is not the case with the use of pesticides, for example.
 
According to Costa, the new technology will allow Brazil to have access to new markets, especially for fresh fruit. Mangoes are one of the fruits that can benefit from the process. Costa affirms that Brazil exported 115 thousand tons of mangoes to foreign markets in 2005 alone and earned US$ 76 million from this activity.

The control and elimination of plagues and diseases shall open new markets for growers which are financially injured due to the phytosanitary barriers in the international markets. Further, the regulation will also make the Brazilian fruit more competitive in these markets. At the moment, Brazilian export’s biggest obstacle is of phytosanitary nature. The fruit export will be expanded after the approval of the new law. The regulation is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.

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Sri Lanka gets first gamma irradiation facility: (June 16, 2006) ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Colombo: Sri Lankan Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Tissa Vitharana says the government has allocated Rs. 350 million to set up a modern multipurpose gamma irradiation facility at the Biyagama Export Processing Zone.

Exporters will be able to irradiate and sterilize their products to international standards in order to compete with global competitors. Value addition of export products will be increased with gamma radiation and sterilization. The proposed facility will provide ISO 1409 certification for local exports after the gamma sterilization process. The International Atomic Energy Agency will assist with this project.

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Irradiation’s “speed” achieves feed, food safety; Feedstuffs (June 19, 2006) By Rod Smith:

It’s a shot of electrons, moving almost at the speed at light, and its opportunities range from making feed and food safer to making baseball helmet and football shoulder pads harder. That’s Irradiation, and it’s being resumed at the former SureBeam plant in Sioux City, Iowa primarily to eliminate pathogens in animal feed and ground beef and to sterilize veterinary instruments.

On a recent walk-through of the plant, including the irradiation chamber itself, Feedstuffs was shown how the plant ---now owned by Sadex Corp. and named Sadex---works. Sadex president and chief operating officer Harlan E. Clemmons pointed to how the plant has two sides: an unprocessed receiving side and a processed shipping side

Once a product is received, its code and count are compared with a ‘Specific Product Supplemental Agreement (SPSA) — an agreement between the customer and Sadex setting the dosage range — to determine irradiation level. Clemmons said, explaining that if there is any variation between SPSA and the product received — eg, a customer ordered a different dosage than in SPSA or a product is received in different packaging or package size — the plant contacts the customer for clarification.

Everything is received in its final packaging from commercial size bags and boxes— to consumer sized individual packages, he said. The packages are loaded on a conveyor line, sent through the radiation chamber to the processed side and loaded onto trucks to be shipped.

He said a “dosimetry” is performed at the beginning, middle and end of the  run to verify that the SPSA dosage range is being met, and the chamber continuously reads dosage levels and defaults and shuts down if levels get out of parameters.

Clemmons said operations are an in and-out process, and the plant typically can handle 40,000 lbs. of feed per hour and 7,000 lb of ground beef per hour, depending on the packaging with a normal turnaround taking one to two hours. The l6, 000 sq. ft. plant can handle an estimated 150 million pounds of meat, poultry and fresh fruits and vegetables per year.

Quality of Life

In the irradiation chamber — in lay terms — an electron beam generated by common electricity is converted into an electron stream that is loaded into a “gun” and accelerated to 99.99% of the speed of light with the electrons shot into the product. The process is known as electron-beam irradiation or “cold pasteurization.”

The process does not alter product qualities including nutrition, and for food, taste and texture, but it kills or render sterile all pathogens with a normal one to two kilogray stream producing a four to five log reduction in pathogens, Clemmons said.

He explained that the sterilization prevents pathogens from reproducing which means they can’t make an animal or human sick if consumed, and a four to five log reduction achieves a 99.9999 to 99.99999% reduction in pathogens.

The plant is refrigerated at 29 degrees Fahrenheit, keeping fresh products fresh and frozen products frozen Clemmons said the plant has irradiated Ice cream without raising the product’s temperature more than 1 degree Fahrenheit. Clemmons said the plant can irradiate complete feeds, but primarily treats feed ingredients. He said there are extra benefits in irradiating feed products, including, based on work at several universities, a faster-growing, and a faster growing healthier animal that needs fewer or no antibiotics. Irradiating colostrum, for instance, represents a major opportunity for the dairy industry he said.

Irradiating poultry feed would kill salmonella, eliminating the need to treat poultry feed with formaldehyde, which disrupts chicken weight gain, he said. Irradiating bedding and feed for research animals would prevent introduction of pathogens from outside sources, he added. Irradiating poultry meat and poultry offer additional benefits, he said, including extending shelf life by two to three times what is normal, even longer in some cases, with some trials extending fresh beef shelf life to 45-60 days, fresh chicken to 21 days and fresh pork to 120 days. Irradiation “extends and improves the lives of humans and animals,” he said.

Feedstuffs was in the plant last month on the day it received its first load of ground beef since its reopening as Sadex in January (nearby timeline). That customer was one of the plant’s biggest customers and irradiation’s major supporters in the past.

Feed, food, plastics

Clemmons said the future of the plant falls largely into three categories: one-third feed and feed ingredients, one-third ground beef and other foods and one-third animal care products and pet food and treats such as dog bones and pigs ears.

Also once the Food & Drug Administration approves irradiation for ready-to-eat products, bagged salads and luncheon meats “are on the horizon,” he said, and although not part of the company’s business plan, irradiation can be used to harden plastics made from corn and soybeans for sports.

The plant is inspected by FDA, the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Food Safety & Inspection Service and Iowa Department of Public Health.

Clemmons said he can promote electron beam irradiation and Sadex because of the substantial science and technology involved. “I have a lot of confidence in my plant,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in my system.” The plant currently runs five days per week on a six person shift which achieves approximately 40% of the plant’s potential volume. It likely can expand to 30-40 people working three shifts, and Clemmons said the company probably would consider construction of a second plant once Sioux City goes to double shifts.

 MINNEAPOLIS– Federal health authorities are warning that people should be careful with pet treats in the wake of a series of human Salmonella infections linked with treats made from raw salmon and beef.

Nine human Salmonella infections in western Canada and Washington state were traced to pet treats in 2004 and 2005, and hundreds of similar cases might have gone unreported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says in today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In view of the risk, the agency warns that people should wash their hands after handling animal-derived pet treats. Further, those at risk for serious illness, such as young children and immunocompromised people, shouldn't handle such treats at all, officials say. The CDC also recommends that pet treat manufacturers use measures such as heat treatment or irradiation to kill bacteria in the products.

The report tells of nine cases, seven of which occurred within a few days after patients had handled beef or salmon pet treats. The patients were infected with a strain of Salmonella Thompson that matched the strain recovered from the treats. The other two patients had no history of handling contaminated pet treats, but they had dogs that carried Salmonella. The reported cases included three in Washington state, four in British Columbia, and two in Alberta. The investigation led to two treat manufacturers, one in Washington and one in British Columbia. Both firms processed frozen, raw beef and salmon into pet treats by thawing, dehydrating, and packaging the meat.

"The dehydration temperatures were not high enough to kill bacteria that might have been present," the report says. "No processing step, such as irradiation, that would destroy Salmonella and other bacteria was used during the processing."  Cultures of treats from the plants yielded the outbreak train of S Thompson, the report says. Investigators found that salmon treats from one of the plants contained up to 80,000 colony-forming units of Salmonella per gram.

The CDC says previous studies have indicated that only about 1 in every 39 salmonellosis cases in the United States is reported and confirmed. Consequently, "this outbreak might have involved hundreds of infections."

Salmonella cases associated with pet treats are not new, the CDC says. In 1999, cases in several Canadian provinces were traced to pig-ear pet treats, and similar cases occurred in Alberta in 2002. Follow-up investigations showed that treats were often contaminated. For example, a 2003 study showed that 65 of 158 animal-derived pet treats bought in the United States in 1999 and 2000 carried Salmonella.

Canada does not regulate pet treats, but the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does; Salmonella-contaminated treats are considered adulterated, the CDC reports. The FDA began testing pet treats for Salmonella in 2004. Because testing indicates that contamination has not decreased, the FDA plans to step up its enforcement activities, the article says.

The CDC says consumers, pet treat makers, public health officials, and healthcare providers should be aware of the risk of contracting Salmonella from pet treats. The CDC and the Public Health Agency of Canada have issued recommendations for reducing the risk:

• People should wash their hands with soap and water after handling animal-derived pet treats.

• People at risk for infection or serious complications, including children under 5, older adults, and immuno-compromised people, shouldn't handle such treats.

• Pet store owners, healthcare providers, veterinarians, and treat manufacturers should inform pet owners of the risks.

• Pet treat makers should take steps to kill bacteria, such as heat treatment or irradiation, and should put production information on labels.

CDC. Human salmonellosis assocated with animal-derived pet treats—United States and Canada, 2005. MMWR 2006 Jun 30;55(25):702-5 [Full text]

All is set for the inauguration of the Gamma Irradiation Facility for the preservation of foods and agricultural products at the Sheda Science and Technology Complex in Abuja, Nigeria. AFRICAN NEWS DIMENSION

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Colombo, 16 June, (Asiantribune.com): The government of Sri Lanka will setup its modern multi purpose Gamma Irradiation facility to assist exporters to irradiate and sterilize their products to compete with global competitors.

Sri Lanka’s Science Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana says the government has allocated a reasonable amount of funds to set up this plant at the Biyagama Export Processing Zone.

“The total cost will not exceed Rs.350 million, said the Minister at a press briefing held in Colombo on Thursday.

Two experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency also are here to assist this project, said Prof.Vitharana. According to the international experts, this facility will increase value addition of export products. At present most of local products face gamma irradiation in out of the country.” This reduce its international price, said  Mr.A.Chemilewiski , an international expert on Atomic Energy. One of its applications is radiation sterilization of different products. Sterilization is a process that inactive all forms of microbial life so that they are not able to reproduce. Other beneficial applications of this facility are food preservation, decontamination of packaging materials, sanitation of cosmetics and the irradiation of pharmaceutical products.

As such this project will generate employment opportunities and also has the potential to increase foreign exchange earnings through exporting value added products.

All over the world more than 40 percent of disposable medical products are sterilized by gamma irradiation. After the inauguration of this facility, the Atomic Energy Authority will provide services for the industrial sector to export gamma sterilized medical products All products are sent to the irradiation facility in packed form and therefore recontamination is avoided and the product is non-toxic.

“This facility can minimize post harvest losses, said an official of the local atomic body.  According to the government sources, the proposed facility will provide ISO 1409 certification for local exports after the gamma sterilization process.

- Asian Tribune -

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ABSTRACT: Green tea byproduct extract powder, a major byproduct of the green tea industry, was prepared and investigated for its biological activities after a gamma-irradiation treatment for the purpose of a brightened color. The color, total phenolic contents, antioxidative activity, tyrosinase inhibition activity, cancer cell proliferation inhibition effect, and antimutagenicity were measured and compared with those of a green tea leaf extract powder. Hunter L* values of the irradiated green leaf and byproduct extracts were increased in a comparison with the nonirradiated extracts. The contents of total phenolic compounds of the green tea leaf and byproduct extracts were 424.2 ± 11.45 and 335.5 ± 18.65 mg/g of sample, respectively. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of the 20 ppm green tea leaf and byproduct extracts were 68.2% and 57.6%, respectively. Ferric-reducing ability of the samples showed similar results to the DPPH radical scavenging capacity. The samples showed an inhibition of tyrosinase and also a cancer cell proliferation inhibition effect. Especially, the anti-mutagenicities of the byproduct extracts showed a strong inhibition effect (96.20% and 57.77%) on 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp) and 2-nitrofluorene (NF), respectively. Results indicated that, although the biological activity of green tea byproduct extracts is less than that of green tea leaf extract, it may be a potential source of a functional ingredient. In addition, irradiation can be applied to improve the color and biological activity of the material.

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The effect of gamma-radiation (0.5, 1, and 2 kGy) on the shelf life of fresh skinless chicken breast fillets stored aerobically at 4 degrees C. was evaluated. Microbiological, chemical, and sensorial changes occurring in chicken samples were monitored for 21 days. Irradiation reduced populations of bacteria, i.e., total viable bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and the effect was more pronounced at the highest dose (2 kGy). Pseudomonads, yeasts and molds, and Enterobacteriaceae were highly sensitive to gamma-radiation and were completely eliminated at all doses. Of the chemical indicators of spoilage, thiobarbituric values for non-irradiated and irradiated aerobically packaged chicken samples were in general low (<1 mg of malonaldehyde per kg of muscle) during refrigerated storage for 21 days. With regard to volatile amines, both trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA-N) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) values for nonirradiated aerobically packaged chicken increased steeply, with final values of ca. 20.3 and 58.5 mg N/100 g of muscle, respectively. Irradiated aerobically packaged chicken samples had significantly lower TMA-N and TVB-N values (P < 0.05) of ca. 2.2 to 3.6 and 30.5 to 37.1 mg N/100 g of muscle, respectively, during refrigerated storage for 21 days. Of the biogenic amines monitored, only putrescine and cadaverine were detected in significant concentrations in both non-irradiated and irradiated chicken samples, whereas histamine formation was noted only in non-irradiated samples throughout storage. On the basis of sensorial evaluation, low-dose irradiation (0.5 and 1.0 kGy) in combination with aerobic packaging extended the shelf life of fresh chicken fillets by ca. 4 to 5 days, whereas irradiation at 2.0 kGy extended the shelf life by more than 15 days compared with that of non-irradiated chicken.

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MIAMI -- Nine contestants in the Miss Florida beauty pageant were hospitalized Tuesday evening after complaining of diarrhea and nausea. The contestants were staying at the Hilton near Miami International Airport. Miami-Dade fire-rescue officials said the contestants might have eaten some undercooked chicken at the hotel the day before.