Jakarta meeting on the accreditation of food irradiation facilities
May 31, 2010
Yves Henon, our iiA Asia pacific representative attended the IAEA Consultant Meeting to review and adopt guidelines on audit and accreditation of food irradiation facilities in Jakarta Indonesia from 10th to 14th May 2010. The IAEA invited him to participate as an expert and to represent the iiA.
Yves made a presentation on the auditing and accreditation requirements of food irradiation facilities, showing that irradiation facilities are frequently audited or inspected by national authorities for a variety of reasons including possession and use of radionuclides or ionizing radiation generators, radiation safety, fire safety, conventional safety and security. Other audits are related to the type of products that are irradiated: medical, pharmaceutical or food. These can be carried out by clients, national authorities, authorities of the importing countries or certification bodies. Irradiation companies may also voluntarily adopt international standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 or ISO 22000.
For the majority of participants who had a phytosanitary background this was rather new information. Over the course of this five-day meeting Yves wealth of experience with food irradiation spanning over thirty years including General Manager of three commercial irradiators brought a unique and practical perspective to this meeting.
During the discussion Yves contributed to the critical group review of the draft guidelines occasionally elaborating on some operational aspects of irradiation facilities. It is important to align the terms that are used with those of the industry, with frequent reference to ISO 11137 to ensure there are no conflicting requirements for irradiator operators. Equally important is the removal of which are not desirable such as the inclusion in the irradiation certificate of the destination (export country) of the goods.
Yves summarised the progress of fresh fruit irradiation in those countries represented at the Jakarta meeting. While for some of them the topic remains academic, four countries (Australia, India, Thailand, Vietnam) are on the way to significant international trade.
The draft guidelines (copy on request or visit the members-only section of the iiA website) will now be circulated to the National Plant Protection Organizations of the thirteen participating countries.
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Yves made a presentation on the auditing and accreditation requirements of food irradiation facilities, showing that irradiation facilities are frequently audited or inspected by national authorities for a variety of reasons including possession and use of radionuclides or ionizing radiation generators, radiation safety, fire safety, conventional safety and security. Other audits are related to the type of products that are irradiated: medical, pharmaceutical or food. These can be carried out by clients, national authorities, authorities of the importing countries or certification bodies. Irradiation companies may also voluntarily adopt international standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 or ISO 22000.
For the majority of participants who had a phytosanitary background this was rather new information. Over the course of this five-day meeting Yves wealth of experience with food irradiation spanning over thirty years including General Manager of three commercial irradiators brought a unique and practical perspective to this meeting.
During the discussion Yves contributed to the critical group review of the draft guidelines occasionally elaborating on some operational aspects of irradiation facilities. It is important to align the terms that are used with those of the industry, with frequent reference to ISO 11137 to ensure there are no conflicting requirements for irradiator operators. Equally important is the removal of which are not desirable such as the inclusion in the irradiation certificate of the destination (export country) of the goods.
Yves summarised the progress of fresh fruit irradiation in those countries represented at the Jakarta meeting. While for some of them the topic remains academic, four countries (Australia, India, Thailand, Vietnam) are on the way to significant international trade.
The draft guidelines (copy on request or visit the members-only section of the iiA website) will now be circulated to the National Plant Protection Organizations of the thirteen participating countries.