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A New End to Crop Bugs

You may have heard about the dangers of methyl bromide, a commonly used pesticide that became the subject of a worldwide argument over how and when to ban it.

The chemical is scheduled for phase-out. But the problem is, researchers have had a tough time finding a suitable alternative, especially for keeping produce bug-free while it’s shipped from one end of the country to another, or even overseas.

That may soon change, thanks to researchers at UC Davis. They’ve found a method for killing the bugs on fruit (and their eggs) that uses carbon dioxide, a vacuum pump and some alcohol. The process, performed after the fruit is picked but before it is shipped, involves loading produce into a special chamber and then sucking the oxygen out of it. Then, the chamber is filled with pure carbon dioxide and some ethanol vapor. This kills the bugs, pops their eggs and doesn’t damage the fruit.

Even though the process is repeated several times, it still takes half as long as treating the fruits and vegetables with methyl bromide. And, it’s nowhere near as toxic. Nor does it deplete the earth’s ozone layer like methyl bromide does.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now in the process of seeing if its researchers can validate these results. Stay tuned. If they do, it could soon provide the replacement everyone’s been looking for.

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To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org