ABSTRACT
Irradiation is the process of treating commodities with ionizing energy and includes radio waves, radar, microwaves, infrared, visible rays, ultraviolet rays, X rays, and gamma rays. Use of irradiation as a quarantine treatment requires precise control and verification of dose by using an automated system that includes product identification information and a dosimeter sufficiently accurate to measure the minimum dose of required irradiation. The International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation considered that tephritid fruit flies had been thoroughly researched and recommended that 150 Gy could be adopted as the minimum dose required to treat eggs or larvae to prevent emergence of normal adults for any species in the absence of specific data to support a lower dose. Since 1960, numerous studies have been performed to determine the effects of irradiation on various quarantine pests. If irradiation is accepted, industry and the public must be convinced that the product can be irradiated economically and without damage.
