Feature northern suburbs of Brisbane and spoke to its Business Development Manager Ben Reilly , and Seth Hamilton who is responsible for implementing the specialist quality management system that operates the cobalt-60 gamma irradiation facility at Narangba , Queensland .
Mr Hamilton says that his task of quality management system is , understandably , quite site-specific , considering that there is myriad of strict policies , regulations and procedures to ensure regulatory compliance and high standards for the services which Steritech offers .
Mr Hamilton is also responsible for handling audit and inspection requests from customers and numerous regulatory bodies , training staff , advising customers on product validations .
He confirmed that Steritech already conducts phytosanitary ( relating to the health of plants , especially with respect to the requirements of international trade of fresh produce ) treatment , particularly that which is earmarked for export . In 2015 , Steritech treated more than 3000 tonnes of fresh produce .
Since January last year , the Queensland Steritech facility has been approved by the US Department of Agriculture for irradiating produce , such as Australian grown mangoes and lychees for export to the USA , Mr Reilly said .
In addition , such food irradiation has been approved in 40 other countries including Japan , France and the Netherlands and is backed by the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation .
Australian Stonefruit Grower saw the treatment room , which did not look much different to a standard cold room , into which pallets of produce arrive on a conveyor belt . The process is rather rapid – it sterilises insects in pallets of produce with hourly through-put of approximately 20 tonnes . Most importantly , the cold chain can be maintained as products do not need to be warmed up to meat treatment requirements .
“ Irradiation is the only air freight suitable alternative to methyl bromide fumigation ,” Mr Reilly said .
“ Methyl bromide has a major downside as it is a recognised ozone-depleting chemical . It has now been phased out by most countries and , for export , the use of methyl bromide may not be allowed in many instances .
Methyl bromide of course , is highly toxic . Moreover , fruit has to be warmed up before fumigation , then cooled down again afterwards .
“ Using irradiation instead of chemicals has clear benefits for stonefruit and summerfruit . It is fast , effective and efficient . It is approved for export to the US and other countries where many chemicals are banned and it maintains the integrity of the cold chain during treatment . During the current North American season , US grown peaches were exported using phytosanitary irradiation to Mexico for the first time ,” Mr Reilly told Australian Stonefruit Grower .
“ In export to the US we have not had one single complaint . The irradiation is entirely chemical-free .”
The Steritech Queensland facility that we visited received its approval from the US Department of Agriculture for irradiating Australian mangoes and lychees for export into the USA early last year and Indonesia has given its approval for grapes and citrus irradiation .
The Steritech Queensland facility we visited received its approval from the US Department of Agriculture for irradiating Australian mangoes and lychees for export into the USA early last year and Indonesia has given its approval for grapes and citrus irradiation . New Zealand , Malaysia and Vietnam also have existing Australian irradiation protocols .
Food irradiation is used around the world and after some 50 years of research the scientific consensus is that when it is carried out within specified standards it produces food that is safe to eat .
Before food can be irradiated it must first go through a strict safety assessment by Food Standards Australia New Zealand ( FSANZ ) and , if approved , must be labelled as having been treated by radiation .
Such labelling has not hurt exports . A savvy “ green ” market such as New Zealand is no problem , for example . Australian mangoes , papayas and lychees which have been treated with irradiation and labelled as such are sold widely in New Zealand .
New Zealand has very strict quarantine requirements ( as has Australia ) to protect its pest-free status in relation to many insects , especially fruit fly .
14 Australian Stonefruit Grower | august 2016 summerfruit . com . au