News Brief
26 Gamma Radiation Processing Plants Operational In India For Irradiation Of Various Food Products: Govt
Union Minister Jitendra Singh (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
The government on Thursday (5 August) said that as many as 26 Gamma radiation processing centres are currently operational in the country for irradiation of various products.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha regarding the reforms proposed in the atomic sector, Union Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said that Gamma irradiation technology for food preservation has already been shared with private players and presently 26 Gamma Radiation Processing Plants are operational in the country in private, semi government and government sector for irradiation of various products.
The minister said that the Gamma irradiation technology is used for inhibition of sprouting in bulbs and tubers, insect disinfestation of cereals, pulses and grains, microbial decontamination (hygienization) of dry spices etc., for preservation or shelf life extension by applying pre-determined radiation doses, an official release said.
Setting of food irradiation facilities in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode certainly mitigates the huge quantum of post-harvest and storage losses of agricultural produce and food that results in national saving, the minister said.
However, reduction of food wastage will depend on various aspects such as post irradiation storage, total quantity of irradiated food products and time lapse between irradiation and distribution to users, he added.
Further, the minister listed the following reforms related to Atomic Energy proposed by Finance Minister on 16 May last year.
(i) Establishing Research Reactor in PPP mode for production of medical isotopes to promote welfare of humanity through affordable treatment for cancer and other diseases.
(ii) Establishing Facilities in PPP mode to use irradiation technology for food preservation.
(iii) Linking India’s robust start-up ecosystem to nuclear sector by setting up Technology Development-cum-Incubation Centres for fostering synergy between research facilities and tech-entrepreneurs.
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