IAEA/RCA Regional Training Course on the use of Irradiation as a Phytosanitary Application for Economically Important Fruits will be held in cooperation with the Government of China through the Institute for Application of Atomic Energy in Beijing, China on 23-27 February 2009, with a view to providing information on the legislative and regulatory requirements to establish the use of irradiation to meet phytosanitary requirements for promoting export of fruits of economic importance produced in RCA Member States.

The effectiveness of irradiation as a broad spectrum quarantine treatment of fresh fruits and vegetables was recognized by the North American Plant Protection Organization in 1989, followed by other plant protection organization and the International Regional Organization for Plant and Animal Health, which operate under the International Plant Protection Convention. Many importing countries, in particular, the U.S. has made clear their acceptance of irradiation as a phytosanitary and quarantine measure and this has produced enormous interest in several countries of the world, including many Asia and Pacific regional countries. The USA started receiving the first consignments of irradiated fresh fruits from Asia during 2007. Against this backdrop, this training course is to be held under the RCA project on Novel Applications of Food Irradiation Technology for Improving Socioeconomic Development, the objective of which is to assist the RCA Member States to use new food irradiation techniques for sanitary and phytosanitary purposes to improve food safety and to promote export of fruits produced in the region, for economic benefits.

For more information, contact Ms. Meixu Gao, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute for Application of Atomic Energy at hnxb5109@263.net.