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Battling Bugs - IAEA Pest Eradication Work Boosts Guatemalan Produce Exports. The IAEA, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), helped deploy sterile insect technology (SIT), a nuclear application, to assist in curbing Guatemala's fruit fly population, thereby providing a host of new jobs and at least doubling, over four years, export earnings from non-traditional agricultural export crops of tomatoes, bell peppers and papaya. Read More »

Food Irradiation - a better way to kill microbes associated with food borne illness. Food irradiation could play a critical role in ensuring safe, wholesome and high quality foods for consumers, especially in dealing with virulent microbial strains that have withstood other more conventional treatments. This latest E. coli outbreak, centred in Northern Germany, has caused at least 26 deaths and over 2,000 infections in Germany, Sweden and other countries. Read More »

Radioactive Contamination and Animal Production and Health. The recent nuclear crisis in Japan, which took place in the aftermath of a serious earthquake and tsunami, has focused the attention of the world on the problems that arise if there is a major release of radionuclides into the atmosphere. Of first concern is the human population that is exposed to contamination in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant, and the need for rapid action to prevent their suffering ill-effects. Read More »

Los Huistas Region in Northwestern Guatemala Declared Mediterranean Fruit Fly Free Area. The Mediterranean fruit fly was eradicated from Los Huistas region, Guatemala. This 220 000 hectares (2 200 km2) area is located in the northwestern border with Mexico. The pest was eradicated using sterile males of the Vienna-7 genetic sexing strain developed at the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratories, and produced in the world's largest insect mass rearing facility at El Pino, Guatemala. This achievement will allow the export of fresh fruit and vegetables grown in the region. Read More »

Deadly animal virus threatens to spread to southern Africa. A deadly viral disease which broke out in Tanzania earlier this year risks spreading to Southern Africa, posing a mortal threat to more than 50 million sheep and goats in 15 countries, FAO warned today. Full Story »

Atoms for Agriculture. Both soil quality and the attention of pest can affect crop yields greatly and good livestock production needs good animal health.
This briefing [pdf] on food security was inserted into and distributed by FT on October 14th 2010. Additional information is available here.

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14 - 16 May 2012
Euroresidue VII Conference on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food, Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands.
Technical Officer: A. Cannavan

21 - 25 May 2012
Regional Training Course on "Early and Rapid Nuclear and Nuclear-Related Diagnostic and Tracing Technologies for African and Classic Swine Fever, Seibersdorf, Austria.
Technical Officer: Ivancho Naletoski

21 - 25 May 2012
First RCM on Use of Symbiotic Bacteria to Reduce Mass-rearing Costs and Increase Mating Success in Selected Fruit Pests in Support of SIT Application, Vienna, Austria.
Technical Officer: R. Cardoso

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