Technological Tests at the Preindustrial Level on Irradiated Potatoes. Prospects for the Practical Introduction of Irradiated Foods in Italy

To confirm the technological feasibility of potato irradiation in large pallet boxes for a period up to 150 days' plant operation, a pilot-scale technological study was carried out in Italy during 1975-76. Potatoes (14 t, cultivar Tonda di Berlino) were received from the Avezzano area on a commercial truck, irradiated at the Casaccia gamma plant and transported back for storage. The irradiation was carried out in pallet boxes (500 kg) using a rotating platform at an average dose of 11.7 krad. The radiation treatment was carried out at 3-week intervals for a total of 9 treatments. During 1976 15 t of irradiated potatoes were put on the Italian market. Irradiation was carried out again at the gamma irradiation plant of the Applied Radiation Division, Casaccia Nuclear Center. After irradiation, the product was transported back to the Fucino area and stored in warehouses of the Fucino Agency at environmental conditions. Two months later the material was taken to Bologna, Milan, Rome and Pescara and put on the market there. At the end of the marketing test and upon receipt of the consumers' opinions by means of distributed postcards, it was concluded that the majority of the consumers expressed a preference for irradiated potatoes with respect to both quality and storage. (author)