Wednesday, July 12, 2000
Editorials
Irradiation plant should help
farmers
The issue: A facility for
treatment of papayas and other fruits with
X-rays is opening on the Big Island.
Our view: The plant could lead to
increased sales of island fruits on
the mainland and in Japan.
THE dedication of an irradiation facility at Keaau in the Puna district
of the Big Island marks the beginning of a new era in the production of
papayas and other fruits in Hawaii. It means that a more satisfactory
method of eliminating fruit flies and other pests is in operation,
carrying with it the potential of expanded markets in the mainland and
Japan.
Fruit fly infestation has plagued Hawaii farmers for decades, making it
difficult to market their fruits beyond the islands. Bathing the fruit
in hot water or vapor has been used to kill the insect larvae but those
methods affect the taste.
Nuclear irradiation was proposed back in the 1980s. It would have
produced more satisfactory results, but a scare campaign claiming that
the fruit would be radioactive discouraged growers who feared consumer
resistance.
Although an initiative aimed at blocking the establishment of a nuclear
irradiation plant on safety grounds failed in 1998, the plant has never
been built. However, the state has been helping growers ship fruit to a
cobalt irradiator near Chicago since 1995.
Now a facility using X-rays rather than cobalt to kill the insect
larvae is being opened. In addition to papayas, the plant will treat
exotic fruits such as rambutan and lychee that are now being grown on
the Big Island.
As a spokesman for the manufacturer, Titan Corp., noted, X-rays can be
used to treat fruit when it's ripe. "It's more nutritious," he said.
"It isn't being steamed for four hours, killing all those vitamins."
Besides preserving the fruit's taste, the X-ray treatment doubles or
triples its shelf life, another important benefit. And it avoids the
concerns surrounding nuclear materials. The process has been compared
to an airport X-ray machine or a television set.
The company behind the plant is called Hawaii Pride LLC. Its owners,
two local businessmen, say they hope to process up to 20 million pounds
of fruit a year.
The Keaau facility is the first in the nation using X-rays to treat
fruit. But Titan Corp. has opened an X-ray plant to treat meat in Sioux
City, Iowa.
With the fruit fly problem solved, Hawaii's fruit growers could see a
major expansion of production in a few years.
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