Agriculture in Hawaii gets a boost

After years of delay, Hawaii’s second irradiation facility to treat papaya and other produce is scheduled to come online in September, giving local farmers a much-needed boost in opening mainland markets to their products.

Environmental challenges to the initial proposal to locate it near Honolulu Airport were successful, and the new location at an agricultural research center at Kunia in Central Oahu seems to satisfy all parties. Even so, it’s unfortunate that a dispute over the facility’s location led to a six-year delay in completing the project.

The environmental law firm Earthjustice and the group Concerned Citizens of Honolulu challenged Pa’ina’s Hawaii LLC’s $4 million facility when it was announced seven years ago. Gamma irradiation involves using cobalt-60 to sterilize or kill fruit flies and other insects.

While the process is generally safe and reliable in sterilizing items ranging from food to medical products, Concerned Citizens alleged that because of potential threats from tsunami, hurricanes, plane crashes, terrorism attacks or other disasters at the airport location, the plant could release radioactive materials, threatening public health and safety.

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which normally exempts industrial irradiators from environmental assessments, agreed to provide an EA. In a final report issued in March 2011, the commission concluded that the risks posed by the proposed airport location were minimal.

Michael Kohn, president of Pa’ina, said the company’s decision to relocate the facility from the airport area to Kunia was unrelated to the environmental review, which he said cost the federal government

$1 million. He said the Kunia location, a less expensive area than the airport, became available after Fresh Del Monte Produce abandoned Hawaii pineapple farming in 2006.

The project differs from the 12-year-old irradiation facility of Calavo Growers Inc., formerly known as Hawaiian Pride, at Keaau in Hawaii island’s Puna District, which uses electron beams to eliminate flies and other pests from papayas and other fruits.

The widespread adoption of food irradiation in the U.S. and elsewhere suggests that the safety and health concerns over irradiated food that once discouraged growers seem to have faded. And irradiation allows fruit to be treated at a riper, tastier stage of the product, unlike other methods such as heat, vapor and forced-air treatments, according to a University of Hawaii assessment.

Whatever the reason, farmers should be pleased with the new facility, which will be capable of treating 70 million pounds of papaya a year.

The plant should provide a major opportunity for farmers to sell their products abroad, ensuring a larger, more stable market and reducing financial risk. It’s one way to improve the sustainability of Hawaii’s agriculture industry.