Government to approve 50 new food irradiation units: Dr Subrata Gupta, Secretary, Food Processing

Mar 26, 2025

Food processing ministry reaching out to major corporations whilst working to change public perception of the technology

 

NEW DELHI, 26 March 2025: India is poised to approve 50 new food irradiation facilities as part of a significant effort to promote the adoption of this preservation technology, despite ongoing challenges related to public perception and market acceptance.

 

Speaking at a FICCI’s Roundtable Conference on Food Irradiation, Dr Subrata Gupta, Secretary of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, revealed the ministry has moved a proposal for approval of the new units and is actively encouraging industry adoption.

 

“I have spoken to industry associations and companies, asking them to explore the possibility of using this technology in their process,” Secretary Gupta told industry leaders, adding that both greenfield and brownfield projects would be eligible for government support.

 

He acknowledged that negative perceptions remain a significant hurdle. “Radiation is a word with a lot of implications... This perception needs to be corrected,” he said, comparing current resistance to the historical scepticism towards pasteurisation before it gained widespread acceptance.

 

Meanwhile, Smt. Nidhi Khare, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, highlighted that in order to stabilize prices and quality of commodities by managing buffer stock of essential commodities such as onion, the importance of technology like irradiation can help improve recovery rate of up to 88 percent. There is a need to address limitation in capacity as fresh produce needs to be treated within one month or so coupled with issue of multiple handling. 

 

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has issued guidelines on solar-powered cold storage to address electricity requirements, whilst the Ministry of Cooperation is working to expand storage infrastructure nationwide.

 

Shri Vivek Kumar Singh, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, talked about the application of irradiation technology and explained how it can help reduce post-harvest losses and retain quality of food. He further explained about the irradiation schemes and eligibility criteria of the government.

 

On occasion, Siraj Hussain, Former Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GoI and Advisor- Food Processing, FICCI, noted that food irradiation technology is widely adopted globally, and India presents a vast opportunity for its implementation. Dr Ravinder Singh, Director of Science and Standards, FSSAI, highlighted the “need to launch public awareness programs” to educate the general public about the benefits of food irradiation.