Prospect of commercialization of food irradiation in Indonesia

As a tropical country, the ambient temperature and humidity are high in Indonesia, accordingly foods are apt to be spoiled. Although the production of some important food crops increased from 1986 to 1988, the level of postharvest loss of the crops was also high. The loss was caused mostly by the lack of technological improvement in preservation, processing and distribution system. The export of Indonesian typical tropical commodities increased from 1986 to 1988, but sometimes a part of the commodities was detained by the importing countries since the quality did not meet the requirement. The development of new technologies such as radiation technology is necessary. The limited volume of spices and herbal tea has been irradiated for commercial purpose since 1987. Indonesia has approved the food irradiation technology for commercial purpose in December, 1987. But due to the limited capacity of the existing irradiation facility, the volume of irradiation cannot be increased. At present, there are two irradiation facilities available, the batch type irradiator for foods and latex irradiator. The information transfer for facilitating public acceptance and the barriers and constraints are discussed. (K.I.)