PARAS Foods (Pvt) Limited, a joint venture of Pakistan Horticulture Development & Export Board (PHDEB) and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PARC), has started providing irradiation treatment to export consignments of perishables on experimental basis initially for Germany and the Norway.
According to a PHDEB spokesman, both consignments of 2000 (Two Thousand) Kg comprising of beans, peas, carrot, gourd, arum mongra, papaya, cheeku, guava and reddish were air borne in first week of February for Germany and the Norway.
Shamoon Sadiq, Chief Executive Officer, PHDEB said at the occasion that the food irradiation technology has great potential to improve the exports of perishables from Pakistan. Sadiq added that joint efforts with different departments are under way to pave the way for the export of mangoes to US for the forthcoming mango season because PARAS Foods is fully prepared to provide irradiation services and to meet the phytosanitory requirements of all the developed countries.
Jamshaid, one of the leading exporters and Chief Executive of KP International, said that the irradiated commodities were observed fresh comparatively for much longer time and irradiation treatment significantly adds to the shelf life of perishables. He also showed his interest in irradiation treatment of mangoes for the forthcoming mango season for US.