A recent report says that a food technology park will be set up in Indore, India with an accelerator-based irradiation plant. This is for the first time India will be using this accelerator- based technology, in comparison to the gamma ray-based irradiation plants in Maharashtra, which are set-up to increase the shelf life of its food products. The proposal has been approved by The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and it has also given a sanction of Rs 12 crore for the establishment of the plant at Dr Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT), Indore. These products will be tested on a global scale to ward off the doubts of advanced countries that do not prefer Indian food products on the basis of harmful bacteria and chemical pesticide residues.
The reports point out many advantages of the plant with regards to the presence of International air-cargo facility to facilitate imports from Indore, economy from the fact that the plant would reduce installation costs from 12 crore to 2 crore and that irradiation will not only preserve the food items but will also prevent the germination of food products thereby helping the farmers to store their products for a longer time. Reports say that this plan will be materialized by setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will look into the development, operation and maintenance of the infrastructure facility.
This pilot plan is going to be a breakthrough in the food technology of India as it will provide functional to the economy and to the agro-sectors in India.
