Irradiation technology used to fight fruit fly

In an effort to save crops currently quarantined in northern San Diego County, California, due to a Mexican fruit fly infestation, growers are turning to a Surebeam irradiation technology, recently approved by the USDA for use on citrus fruit, to fight the infestation.

Beginning this week, growers will have their fresh produce treated with the irradiation technology, which ​ prefers to call X-ray technology, a process that uses ordinary electricity to safely eliminate fruit fly larvae. This marks the first time that the technology will be used on fresh produce in the continental United States. Furthermore, the company says it has offered growers in the area the opportunity to treat their first 10,000 pounds of produce at no cost.

"Southern California citrus agriculture stands to suffer high losses due to the worst infestation in San Diego County history, and SureBeam technology can help curb some of those losses,"​ said Mark Stephenson, vice president for SureBeam Corporation. "We are happy to be able to provide a solution for growers to save their harvest, and with it, Southern California citrus."​

In San Diego County the Polito Family Farms in Valley Center are the first to employ the SureBeam solution. The first truckloads of citrus fruit left Polito Family Farms on Monday morning and were processed in SureBeam's Southern California facility, near Los Angeles. More growers are expected to follow suit, the company claims.

"An infestation such as this could mean devastation to this region,"​ said Bob Polito, the second-generation owner of Polito Family Farms. "It's such a relief to know we can salvage much of our harvest using this technology."​

The quarantine, imposed on 5 December 2002, now covers 130-square miles of San Diego County. Previous, less-extensive fruit fly infestations have cost growers approximately $30 million (€27.8m) in pesticide costs alone. Additional damages include millions of dollars in damaged crops and lost domestic and export sales. This technology enables growers to save their crop, which would otherwise be destroyed or left to rot in order to contain the infestation, without the use of additional pesticides.

SureBeam technology offers two processing systems, X-ray and electron beam systems. Similar to a microwave, both systems use ordinary electricity as the energy source to eliminate the threat of harmful food-borne organisms and bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and fruit fly larvae. Fruit can be processed with either system, though the fruit from Valley Center will be processed with the X-ray system. This system uses electricity to produce an electron beam that is scanned over a metal plate, producing X-rays, which pass through the packaged fruit on a conveyor.

The SureBeam process has been used for over two years in Hawaii, where infestations threatened entire harvests of exotic fruit, such as lychee, persimmon and guava. In addition to fresh fruit, SureBeam technology is also used to eliminate foodborne bacteria in fresh and frozen ground beef. Processed ground beef is sold across the country in thousands of supermarkets, as well as by home delivery, direct mail and through food service operators.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, SureBeam Corporation is a leading provider of electron beam food safety systems and services for the food industry. SureBeam claims its technology significantly improves food quality, extends product freshness, and provides disinfestation that helps to protect the environment. The company also says that its patented system is based on proven electron beam and X-ray technology that destroys harmful foodborne bacteria much like thermal pasteurisation does to milk. This technology can also eliminate the need for toxic chemical fumigants used in pest control that may be harmful to the earth's ozone layer.