RP mangoes to penetrate US, Aussie markets
Monday, December 19, 2005
Davao Sun Star
IT TOOK about ten years for the United States to allow the importation of Guimaras fresh mangoes. The time required for the importation of mangoes produced elsewhere in the Philippines will be much shorter now, said Hernani Golez, National Mango Research and Development Center (NMRDC) chair.
"We have very high chances of exporting to the US and Australia soon," Golez declared.
Golez, who spoke at the recent 7th National Mango Congress in Zamboanga City, said these countries have commissioned projects to determine the food safety for RP mangoes at the production and post-harvest stages.
The United States' research on "Enhancing the Export Competitiveness of Fresh Philippine Super Mango" will look into the technical and economic feasibility of using irradiation as an alternative means of disinfestations for two species of fruit flies and the mango pulp weevil.
Food irradiation is a new food safety technology that uses either gamma rays, electron beams or x-rays to eradicate food-borne diseases. Gamma rays and electron beams are currently being used for fresh produce and raw meat, while the use of x-ray irradiation for agricultural processes is still being developed.
Irradiation can rid foods of disease-causing germs such as E.coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter in raw meat and poultry. It can also eliminate parasites such as Cyclospora, bacteria like Shigella, and Salmonella in fresh produce.
In a related effort to ensure the quality of the country's agricultural exports, the Australian Agency for International Development-funded "Survey of pulp/ seed weevil in Mindanao," is designed to detect the presence or absence of pulp and seed weevils in Mindanao, particularly in mango producing areas in Davao, Cotabato, and Zamboanga, and its findings are good news for farmers and exporters.
