Each country has food security programs that are designed to organize an uninterrupted supply of the population with the necessary food in case of emergency: military operations, natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, droughts, etc.), pandemics, and other situations that pose a threat to the supply, movement, cultivation and storage of food products.
The technology of phytosanitary treatment of food with by ionizing radiation has been used in the world for more than 70 years and is used to extend the shelf life of food products to more than 10 years.
Food products with extended shelf life are used for:
- Establishing state food reserves,
- Providing humanitarian aid, including:
- Ongoing annual support from organizations, like the FAO and WFP, to countries that lack sufficient domestic food supplies for their populations.
- Emergency assistance to victims of disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, and others, delivered by agencies, like the FAO.
Long-term storage products include instant cereals, cereals such as oats, buckwheat, soybeans, corn, flour of various types, and other food products.
BEAMCOMPLEX EQUIPMENT FOR HUMANITARIAN AID FOOD IRRADIATION
Beamcomplex produces compact container-type complexes with electron accelerators operating in E-beam and X-Ray modes with an energy of 5 MeV and a power of 50 kW and 100 kW for processing food products supplied as part of humanitarian aid, and also supplies products treated with ionizing radiation.
These complexes are ready-to-use and can be installed in long-term food storage warehouses for processing incoming food products.
The complexes allow treatment in sealed packaging, eliminating 100% of pathogens without compromising product quality, ensuring no recontamination, preserving all nutritional properties and extending food shelf life.
IONIZING RADIATION TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY FOR HUMANITARIAN AID FOOD PRODUCTS
Ionizing radiation (E-beam and X-Ray) generated by electron accelerators is used for phytosanitary treatment of food products.
E-beam/X-Ray penetrate the product and effectively eliminate or reduce the number of pathogens and parasites to required limits by inducing breaks in their DNA.
SHELF LIFE OF PRODUCTS TREATED WITH IONIZING RADIATION
The shelf life of processed products depends on the following factors:
- The level of contamination of food products with pathogens, insects and their larvae before the process of ionizing radiation treatment.
- The characteristics of the packaging material (materials and packages that prevent the ingress of insects and pathogenic microorganisms, as well as materials with an oxygen barrier provide the longest shelf life).
- The level of sterility of the storage facilities in which the products will be stored after their radiation treatment.
- Temperature conditions and humidity in the storage facilities.
*The long shelf life is due to the fact that the products are exposed to the maximum permissible dose of radiation, as well as the use of packaging materials that are insect-, moisture- and oxygen-proof.
| Types of Food Products | Irradiation Dose (kGy) | Mode | Shelf Life Extension |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Cereals (rice, semolina, buckwheat, etc.) | 1 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to to 5 years, *Up to 10 years |
| 2) Grains (wheat, rice, etc.) | 0.2-0.5 | E-beam | Up to 1 year |
| 3) Flour | 4 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to to 5 years, *Up to 10 years |
| 4) Noodle products | 4 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to to 5 years, *Up to 10 years |
| 5) Frozen chicken meat, poultry (fowl, geese, ducks, guinea fowls, pigeons, quails, and turkeys) | 7 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 3 years |
| 6) Chilled chicken meat, poultry (fowl, geese, ducks, guinea fowls, pigeons, quails, and turkeys) | 7 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 2 years |
| 7) Chilled chicken fillet, minced chicken | 7 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 2 years |
| 8) Chilled fish and shellfish (incl. eels, crustaceans and mollusks) | 3 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 2 years |
| 9) Frozen peeled or decapitated shrimps | 5 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 3 years |
| 10) Chilled shrimps | 3 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 2 years |
| 11) Frozen frog legs | 5 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 3 years |
| 12) Lean pork (minced) | 0.3-1 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 2 years |
| 13) Raw chilled meat | 4.5 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 2 years |
| 14) Frozen beef | 7 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 3 years |
| 15) Chicken eggs | 7 | E-beam | Up to 2 months, *Up to 5 months |
| 16) Dried vegetables and fruits | 1 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 2 years, *Up to 4 years |
| 17) Potatoes | 0.1-0.2 | E-beam | Up to 1 year |
| 18) Yams | 0.2 | E-beam | Up to 1 year |
| 19) Onions | 0.06-0.2 | X-Ray | Up to 1 year |
| 20) Garlic | 0.075-0.2 | X-Ray | Up to 1 year |
| 21) Shallots | 0.075-0.2 | X-Ray | Up to 1 year |
| 22) Vegetables | 1 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year |
| 23) Fruit (incl. tomato, rhubarb) | 0.15-0.6 | X-Ray | Up to 3 months, *Up to 6 months |
| 24) Berries | 0.15-0.6 | X-Ray | Up to 2 months, *Up to 4 months |
| 25) Casein, caseinates | 6 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 10 years |
| 26) Animal feed (compound feed) | 5 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 2 years |
| 27) Pet food | 25 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 1 year, *Up to 5 years |
| 28) Tea, coffee, cocoa | 1-14 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 3 years, *Up to 10 years |
| 29) Deep frozen aromatic herbs | 10 | E-beam/X-Ray | Up to 3 years, *Up to 5 years |