Irradiation as a means of prolonging the shelf-life of food remains largely unexplored in Malaysia, due in part to regulations that only allow th procedure for research purposes and also because of public apprehension.  Ng Peng Seng has the report.

We all know that irradiation is used to treat cancers, but not many people are aware that irradiation can be used as an effective and safe means of preserving food.
Dr. Nahrul Khair b. Alang Md. Rashid, president of the Malaysian Nuclear Society, emphasises that food irradiation is an efficient means for prolonging the shelf-life of foodstuff by preventing sprouting and by killing bacteria or micro-organisms.
"It is one of the applications of nuclear science and technology that is well-researched (locally by MINT since the mid-80s), established and ready for exploitation.
"Alas, even so, interest in it mostly remains within the scientific community whilst its applications are not widespread."
This, he says, is largely due to public apprehension on radiation, especially when it is applied to the foods that we eat.
Out of step with Asean trends, Malaysia has not yet gone into the venture of irradiating food even though it has three commercial/industrial-scale gamma irradiation facilities.
Dr. Nahrul says that at present these facilities are used mainly for sterilisation of medical products and for decontamination of materials such as herbs and spices.
The MINT gamma irradiation facility, Sinagama in Bangi, for example, has been offering these services since the early 1990s - it received its ISO 9002 certification in 1992 - but that was that.
Dr. Nahrul says it all boils down to this: commercialisation of food irradiation depends much on public acceptance and regulation.
At the moment Malaysian regulations do not allow irradiation of food for local consumption, except for research purposes.
On this, a Ministry of Health official says that whilst it is true that the food regulations stipulate that the irradiation of food for local consumption is not allowed, a permit can be obtained from the Director General of Health on a case-by-case basis.
In contrast, the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved irradiation of wheat and potatoes as early as the '60s, spices in early '80s, and last year it approved irradiation of fresh and frozen meat.
The popularity of food irradiation is increasing in many parts of the world.  It is currently allowed in 35 countries and practised in 21 countries world-wide including the US, Russia, France, South Africa, Canada and Belgium.
On the Asean front, it has been reported that Thailand and Indonesia are using food irradiation in a big way commercially.
What does irradiation do that prolongs the shelf-life of food and what is the process like?
Dr. Nahrul explains that radiation kills bacteria - thus it can be used to control food-borne disease-causing micro-organisms present in foodstuff.
The process involves passing foodstuff through a field of gamma radiation in a controlled manner.
Exposure duration is set so that the dose received is around 10 kiloGray and below.   Since radiation can penetrate solid objects, foodstuff can be irradiated without taking them out of their packages.
One may harbour doubts as to whether irradiation will induce radioactivity in the food and whether it is safe.
Dr. Nahrul assures that unlike neutrons, gamma rays are incapable of inducing radioactivity in materials exposed to them.
Neither do they leave any trace of radiation in the materials being exposed since the foodstuff being processed does not come in contact with the radiation source.
Thus, food irradiated with gamma radiation does not become radioactive.  Based on scientific research it is safe and was accepted by the World Health Organisation in 1981, Dr. Nahrul points out.
What are the main benefits in using this compared to conventional ways?
Food irradiation is used for preservation and for improvement of food safety through reduction of microbial loads, that is, decontamination, he says.
In the conventional method, decontamination is achieved by either heat treatment or gas (for example, ethylene oxide) fumigation.  However, heat treatment can destroy the flavour of certain foodstuff like spices while ethylene oxide is an ozone depleter.
Since radiation can reach complex geometrical shapes compared to the ability of gas fumigation to do so, it gives more uniform results throughout the product being irradiated.  No residue is left and irradiation can be done while he foodstuff are in their transportation packages.
However, foodstuff containing fats, like in dairy products, are not suitable because taste can be affected badly.
Nevertheless, it is suitable for poultry, spices, seafood and vegetables including vegetable seasonings.  The process is also suitable for quarantine treatment of agricultural produce, Dr. Nahrul says.
As for whether it is an expensive process, he says the capital cost of setting up an irradaition facility depends on its purpose, capacity, and so on.  The Sinagama facilty at MINT, for example, costs around RM 7 million.  But in the long run, savings could be made in the form of improved hygiene, improved availability and quality, longer storage life and processing convenience.
He says the other part of the cost is the irradiation itself.  Irradiation cost depends on the purpose of irraiation due to the different dosages of energy.
Another question is whether food irradiation can replace conventional methods of preserving food.
Dr. Nahrul says it does not replace but compelements conventional methods like freezing, drying, salting, canning and so on.  He adds that it must also be stressed that food irradiation does not replace proper or good handling practise - dirty foodstuff when irradiated remains dirty.
One final aspect.  Is it halal?  Dr. Nahrul says the process does not change the status of the food.  Irradiated non-halal food remains non-halal; similarly, halal food does not become non-halal after irradiation.