The discussion was concentrated on the use of innovative treatment technologies in the agriculture, medical industry and production of composite materials. Much was said about social and economic effects of their implementation, including food security, improvement of living standards, solutions to environmental problems, and reduction of product losses.
At present, nearly 30% of agricultural produce in the world is lost during storage and does not make its way to the consumer market. In India, which produces almost 14% of vegetables globally, post-harvest losses might reach 70%. Food irradiation is a technology specifically designed to slow down spoilage. “Although we live in a high-tech era, every ninth person on our planet suffers from hunger. Rosatom cannot turn the blind eye to the problem and is committed to solving it,” says Elena Pashina from Rusatom Overseas. According to her, exposing foodstuffs to ionizing radiation is absolutely safe, and international organizations have admitted this fact. “Irradiation technologies increase output, reduce loss and improve quality of foods,” she noted.
A good example of Rosatom’s involvement is its project to establish an international network of multi-functional irradiation centers. “Along with fruit and vegetables, the centers can be used to treat spices, fish and flowers,” Elena Pashina explains. Irradiation can also be used to sterilize medical products. “Today, 19 centers operate in India, but they are far from being enough. Our project will fully satisfy domestic demand and give India an opportunity to treat export products, too.” The Indian government also runs a national program to eliminate child under-nutrition. “We hope that our joint efforts will contribute to the program development,” Elena Pashina added
How it works
The multi-functional irradiation center uses a gamma ray unit and/or electron accelerator to apply ionizing radiation to foods, agricultural produce or medical products. Radiation can also be used to strengthen polymer coatings. Cobalt-60 serving as a source of gamma rays is put inside a case that is inserted at the plant into a gamma cell. Packaged medical or food products pass through the gamma cell and get treated. The use of gamma rays or accelerated electrons is absolutely safe. In agriculture, the technology is used to improve seed germination, arrest sprouting in vegetables, kill insects or other pests, and increase shelf life without applying any chemicals. Along with fresh produce, the irradiation technology can be used to treat frozen, canned or sealed foodstuffs. Radiation passes through the package and does not affect food properties, such as taste or aroma. “Application of innovative technologies for medical product treatment inactivates pathogens, their spores and non-pathogenic bacteria inside the treated material and increase shelf life of sterilized instruments,” explains Marina Brilka, Director for Innovative Treatment Technologies at United Innovation Corporation (Rosatom’s subsidiary). “Irradiation leaves no harm. It is extremely important that instruments can be used right away.” Irradiation solutions have made a huge step forward and solved problems that seemed inextricable just recently.
