By:Debraj Deb (Bureau Chief-ICN Tripura)
Navi Mumbai: While officials at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and its other sister concerns struggle to get people convinced about the beneficial applications of nuclear radiation, the organization’s own people have summarily rejected irradiated food items and other consumables.
While speaking to (ICN) during a specialized media visit at the Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT) facility near Vashi at Navi Mumbai, Senior General Manager for Marketing and Services B.K. Pathak said that therer were efforts to popularize irradiated food products at the BARC facility in Trombay.
“Most of them didn’t want to accept these foods”, he said. Annapurna Mahila Mandal – a local NGO tried to popularize irradiated food items at BARC facilities in Maharashtra way back in 2000. All food products exported worldwide including the United States of America (USA) now require irradiation as a compulsory procedure for ensuring export quality.
The Americal Food and Drug Authority (FDA) and FSSAI both have certified irradiated food products absolutely safe for human consumption. However, with none among the BARC employees ready to consume their own processed food items, BRIT authorities had tried to popularize the products at a local marketplace run by Agriculture Production and Marketing Committee, right beside their facility at Navi Mumbai. That didn’t work out too well either.
“People step back whenever they see the irradiation symbol on the food packets. There is perhaps some sort of fear working among the people about the health effects of consuming irradiated foods”, Pathak says.
When asked about the reason behind the rejection, the official said that unfounded apprehension centering nuclear radiation had left even the most educated of people supertitious on the subject. After repeated failures to convince their own people, BARC authorities moved on to direct the entire bulk of irradiated food products to international exports. And many countries including USA have gladly accepted the goods.
BRIT emerged as an individual entity out of BARC under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 1989. It is one among the eleven major institutions under the BARC umbrella.
Among its many significant functions, the BRIT is responsible for production of radio-pharmaceuticals in usable form that include manufacture of Technetium COld Kits, Technetium-99m generators, Radiography sources and kits, gamma chambers, blood irradiators and radiation processing of food products.
BRIT uses Cobalt 60, a radio-isotope of Cobalt produced at DHRUVA, the only functional research reactor with the Department of Atomic Energy, for irradiating food products. Irradiation or exposure to nuclear radiation in simple words, cleans all life-forms in the products including bacteria, viruses or any microbes that might remain in cyst form.
The process also eliminates chances of germination, sprouting of food products such as potatoes, onions etc. and considerably delays the ripening and decay time of the food items.
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Chairman Dr. VK Bhardwaj said that they were in talks with different commercial firms to popularize the food irradiation technology.
“Many are practicing the technology already. But there is still a need to convince our citizens that irradiation ensures food quality, doesn’t degrade it”, he said.
