Abstract

The postharvest diseases are considered worldwide as the most significant issue for postharvest facilities. Although there are various methods to decrease postharvest losses, consumers are looking for agricultural product free of chemicals. It is therefore necessary to develop alternatives to synthetic chemical control to reduce environmental risks and raise consumer confidence. Several alternatives such as food irradiation show promise, but none alone is as effective as fungicides. A strategy must be developed that combines several of these alternatives to enhance their effectiveness. Therefore, there is a need for a method combining couple of methods together. A combination for this purpose can be irradiation with other treatment such as, heating, cooling and sodium carbonate/sodium bicarbonate treatment. The safety of irradiated food is declared by joint FAO/JAEA/WHO Expert Committee for food irradiation. In this study, advantages and disadvantages of irradiation, and combination with various other treatments were evaluated and recommendations were provided to minimize the postharvest losses.

Key words: Irradiation, postharvest disease, combined treatment.