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IMAGE: INRS Professor Monique Lacroix is an expert in sciences applied to food, such as irradiation. view more
Credit: Christian Fleury (INRS)
A combined treatment of irradiation and essential oil vapors could effectively destroy insects, bacteria and mold in stored grains. A team from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), led by Professor Monique Lacroix, has demonstrated the effect of this process on insects affecting rice. The study was published in the
Microorganisms and insects are the main enemies of stored grains. Currently, the food industry uses fumigants to destroy them. However, these compounds, which evaporate or decompose into gases into air or water, are threatening human health and the environment. When grain is fumigated, a small amount of gas is absorbed by the grain and released into the atmosphere. For food irradiation, the treatment is physical. If new molecules are produced, they are no different than those produc