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Food Technology Service Inc. licensed to use irradtion

Monday, June 15, 2009

Food Technology Service Inc. has been licensed by Florida’s Division of Aquaculture to use irradiation to produce safer oyster products.

The Mulberry business is the first facility in the nation to be formally recognized to use this process since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued approval for radiation use in 2005, according to a release from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The process has been validated in trials, including analytical procedures conducted by the University of Florida’s Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.

Irradiation reduces potentially harmful bacteria without altering the flavor or appearance of live raw oysters, the release said.

Prepackaged oysters are exposed to a very specific and controlled amount of radiation that selectively kills certain types and amounts of bacteria, the release said.

Irradiation profides a cost-effective and energy efficient method for providing safer oyster products from Florida, Charles Bronson, the agriculture department’s commissioner, said in a statement.

Food Technology Service owns and operates an irradiation facility that uses gamma radiation produced by Cobalt 60 to treat or process various food and non-food products.

The company’s facility, which began operating in 1992, is designed to operate 24 hours a day.

Food Technology Service owns a 4.33-acre site that includes the irradiation facility, executive offices and a warehouse.

For more information click here or contact Bridgette Mill

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