‘Government poised to approve 50 new food irradiation units’

NEW DELHI: The government is poised to approve 50 new food irradiation facilities as part of an effort to promote the adoption of this preservation technology despite ongoing challenges related to public perception and market acceptance.

Speaking at a FICCI’s Roundtable Conference on Food Irradiation, Subrata Gupta, Secretary of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, revealed that the ministry has moved a proposal for approval of the new units and is actively encouraging industry adoption. “I have spoken to industry associations and companies, asking them to explore the possibility of using this technology in their process,” Secretary Gupta told industry leaders, adding that both greenfield and brownfield projects would be eligible for government support.

He acknowledged that negative perceptions remain a significant hurdle. “Radiation is a word with a lot of implications... This perception needs to be corrected,” he said, comparing current resistance to the historical scepticism towards pasteurisation before it gained widespread acceptance.

Meanwhile, Nidhi Khare, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, highlighted that in order to stabilize prices and quality of commodities by managing buffer stock of essential commodities such as onion, the importance of technology like irradiation can help improve recovery rate of up to 88 percent.