INDONESIA / FOOD IRRADIATION

An IAEA report on  food irradiation projects in Indonesia IAEA

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:06:00
• Production Date: 13 October 2012
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY - IAEA
• Subject Topical: FOOD INDUSTRY; HEALTH; NUTRITION; DISEASE PREVENTION; DISEASE CONTROL; ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH; MEDICINE; MEDICAL SCIENCES
• Geographic Subject: INDONESIA
• MAMS Id: U121013a

Description

STORY: INDONESIA / FOOD IRRADIATION
TRT: 6.00
SOURCE: IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: FEBRUARY 2012, JAKARTA, BOGOR AND SUKABUMI, INDONESIA

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, Jakarta city
2. Wide shot, traffic jams
3. Med shot, motorbikes
4. Wide shot, rickshaws
5. Med shot, crowds of people
6. Close up, cooking at Jakarta food stall
7. Med shot, cooking and eating at Jakarta food stall
8. Close up, serving food at Jakarta food stall
9. Med shot, men eating at food stall
10. Med shot, cooking at food stall
11. Close up, cooking at food stall
12. Zoom in, various bacteria
13. Close up, insect in food at Kramat Jati market
14. Close up, spices at market
15. Med shot, spices at market
16. Zoom out, box of food going into irradiation chamber at BATAN
17. Close up, box of food
18. Close up, pressing button
19. Med shot, irradiation chamber
20. Med shot, control room at BATAN irradiation facility
21. Wide shot, Dr Zubaidah Irawati, food irradiation specialist at BATAN HQ
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Zubaidah Irawati, Food Irradiation Specialist, BATAN:
“Actually, to irradiate food is not quite new for us, because we have been starting with the research in 1969, and then we came to the commercialization in 1992. It began with five food items only, and now we have 147 food items.”
23. Wide shot, entrance to Rel-Ion irradiation facility, Jakarta
24. Pan right, inside Rel-Ion
25. Med shot, containers being moved at Rel-Ion
26. Close up, containers being loaded
27. Close up, button being pressed
28. Wide shot, conveyor belt taking containers into irradiation chamber
29. Zoom out, containers moving
30. Med shot, irradiation chamber operator in control room
31. Med shot, irradiation chamber
32. Pan left, irradiation chamber
33. Cutaway, red light flashing
34. Zoom in, irradiation chamber, radioactive source
35. Close up, PC monitor
36. Close up, PC monitor
37. Cutaway, PC screen and man
38. Close up, Rel-Ion worker and radioactive sign
39. Med shot, food coming out of chamber
40. Close up, Radura sticker being applied
41. Zoom out, Gerak Tani containers
42. Wide shot, Gerak Tani company, Jakarta
43. Close up, chilies being stirred
44. Close up, preparing food
45. Med shot, preparing food for packaging
46. Close up, sealing food packages
47. Med shot, preparing food for packaging
48. Med shot, preparing food for packaging
49. Close up, sealing food packages
50. SOUNDBITE (Indonesian) Neken Jamin Sembiring, Director Gerak Tani:
“We use irradiation to control any possible contamination from bacteria that could be found in the raw materials we need for our products.”
51. Various shots, tofu being made at Yun Yi Tofu factory, Bogor
52. Close up, BATAN tests on Yun Yi tofu
53. Med shot, BATAN tests on Yun Yi tofu
54. Tilt down, tofu comparison
55. Close up, boxes going into irradiation chamber at BATAN
56. Pan right, box and irradiation chamber
57. Close up, man with mask preparing food for people with weak immune systems
58. Med shot, BATAN preparing food for people with weak immune systems
59. Close up, preparing packages
60. Close up, placing packages in box
61. Tilt down, sealing machine
62. Close up, sealed packages go into box for irradiation
63. Zoom out, ice cream
64. Wide shot, Dr Irawati (BATAN) and Sri Wahyuni walking
65. Close up, Sri Wahyuni looking at food packages
66. SOUNDBITE (English) Sri Wahyuni, Cancer Patient:
“My immunity body is low, so I want to improve it. I believe this food is better because it’s sterile, so the nutrients make me be the highest condition.”
67. Wide shot, residents at the National Narcotics Rehabilitation Centre in Sukabumi
68. Close up, entrance
69. Wide shot, men playing table tennis
70. Med shot, man sitting at desk
71. Pan right, men in corridors
72. Close up, preparing irradiated food for testing
73. Wide shot, residents listen to Dr Irawati (BATAN)
74. Close up, food tasting
75. Close up, filling out forms to assess food
76. SOUNDBITE (Indonesian) Indah Setya Utami, Nutritionist, National Narcotics Rehabilitation Centre:
“The main aim of the project was to improve the immune systems of the selected residents. Test results showed that after introducing the irradiated foods into their diet, their nutritional status improved.”
77. Med shot, Kramat Jati market, fruit stalls
78. Pan left, people buying fruit
79. Close up, fruit
80. Close up, insects on fruit
81. Med shot, entomologist at work
82. Close up, mango being infested with eggs
83. Close up, entomologist
84. Close up, sealing mango
85. Wide shot, Jakarta market
86. Wide shot, Jakarta harbour
87. Wide shot, containers at harbour
88. Wide shot, port and sea

Storyline

Jakarta is a city on the move, a bustling metropolis with a growing population of over 12 million.

Eating is a popular pastime in the country. But food should not only be tasty, it needs to be sufficient and safe. E. coli, salmonella and other harmful bacteria can be lurking in food, alongside insects and mould. These contaminants can lead to food poisoning and wastage.

Indonesia is one of 60 countries worldwide that are improving food safety with irradiation. Research is centered at the National Nuclear Energy Agency, BATAN, which coordinates several projects for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

According to the IAEA's Food and Environmental Safety Section, food irradiation offers many advantages over alternatives like heating, refrigeration or the use of chemicals as preservatives.

The technique has also been approved by both the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Zubaidah Irawati, Food Irradiation Specialist, BATAN:
“Actually, to irradiate food is not quite new for us, because we have been starting with the research in 1969, and then we came to the commercialization in 1992. It began with five food items only, and now we have 147 food items.”

Indonesia’s commercial irradiation centre, Rel-Ion in Jakarta, operates seven days a week 24 hours a day, irradiating food for domestic and international markets. Irradiation is used to kill harmful bacteria and control insects. The technique extends the shelf life of food by destroying microorganisms, such as mould that cause food to decay.

Under the simplest system food is loaded into an irradiation chamber. A radioactive cobalt source, which is safely stored deep underwater, is lifted.

Gamma rays penetrate the food. After lowering the source the irradiation stops. The process does not make the food radioactive.

One regular customer at Rel-Ion is Gerak Tani, a family-run spice and sauces company based in Jakarta.

SOUNDBITE (Indonesian) Neken Jamin Sembiring, Director Gerak Tani:
“We use irradiation to control any possible contamination from bacteria that could be found in the raw materials we need for our products.”

By using irradiation, the firm’s produce can last for up to a year, compared to one week if untreated, and is cleared of any harmful microorganisms.

The Yun Yi tofu company in Bogor is hoping to get a license to irradiate its tofu.

Of the 30,000 units of tofu Yun Yi produces a day, around ten percent are wasted because they do not stay fresh for long. Irradiation would extend the shelf life of the tofu from one to seven weeks.

Tests at BATAN on Yun Yi tofu show that the irradiated tofu remains fresh for much longer and with no change in taste.

BATAN is also using irradiation technology to produce safe food for people with weak immune systems, who are more at risk from food-borne infections. Under an IAEA research project, BATAN uses radiation to sterilize meals that add variety to the diets of these people and are also tasty and healthy.

Research scientist, Sri Wahyuni, takes part in the project. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and has undergone chemotherapy.

SOUNDBITE (English) Sri Wahyuni, Cancer Patient:
“My immunity body is low, so I want to improve it. I believe this food is better because it’s sterile, so the nutrients make me be the highest condition.”

Some residents at Indonesia’s National Narcotics Rehabilitation Centre in Sukabumi are further beneficiaries of the project. Many of the people here suffer from HIV or hepatitis, which has damaged their immune systems.

BATAN conducted a successful project in 2011 and is now carrying out tasting tests for the next round of the project.

SOUNDBITE (Indonesian) Indah Setya Utami, Nutritionist, National Narcotics Rehabilitation Centre:
“The main aim of the project was to improve the immune systems of the selected residents. Test results showed that after introducing the irradiated foods into their diet, their nutritional status improved.”

Indonesia has a wealth of exotic fruits and a high potential for export, but international regulations to control pests can be a hurdle. Under another IAEA project, entomologists at BATAN are researching the right amount of radiation to use to control bugs that infest fruit.

If the project succeeds, fresh produce will be able to reach new market places and more shiploads of fruit could be leaving Jakarta port in the future.