Gamma Ray Irradiation for Onions

• The Centre is planning to irradiate onions with Gamma rays before sending them into cold storage on a pilot basis.
  • Perishable nature of onions, combined with lower processing penetration and sub-optimal storage infrastructure causes post-harvest losses (almost 25%).
• Kharif and late kharif onion or red onion is highly perishable and cannot be stored for over a month.
  • Therefore, the rabi variety, which accounts for 65% of the onion harvest and has a longer shelf life of about 5-7 months, would be considered for irradiation.
• Maharashtra is the leading onion producing state, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. These states account for about 80% of India’s total production.

About Irradiation

• Irradiation prevents sprouting and thus helps in bringing down post-harvest losses.
• Food irradiation involves controlled application of energy from ionizing radiations such as gamma rays, electrons and X-rays for food preservation.
• Irradiation works by disrupting the biological processes that lead to decay.
• Gamma ray, X-ray or electrons do not induce any radioactivity in food.
• Radiation sources approved for use on foods
  • Gamma rays emitted from radioactive forms of cobalt (Cobalt 60) or Caesium (Caesium 137) used routinely to sterilize medical, dental products.
• X-rays produced by reflecting a high-energy stream of electrons off a target substance into food.
  • Electron beam (or e-beam) is like X-rays and is a stream of high-energy electrons propelled from an electron accelerator into food.

Benefits

• Can be used to sterilize foods, which can then be stored for years without refrigeration.
• Delay of sprouting and ripening to increase longevity.
• Destroy or inactivate organisms that cause spoilage and decomposition.
• Eliminate organisms that cause foodborne illness, such as E. coli.