Israeli researchers are applying a new technology process for disinfecting Medjoul dates.
The new technology, thermal disinfestation, replaces the need to use methyl bromide on Medjoul date varieties exported from Israel, and is environmentally sound and sustainable, according to sources.
It is estimated that nearly 9,000 tonnes of dates were treated by thermal disinfestation in Israel, but the technology has not yet been applied to other Israeli date varieties.
However, the Israeli ministry for the protection of the environment is supporting a new project to investigate the suitability of this technology for other date varieties, dried fruits and stored food products.
In the last date harvest of 2007, yield amounted to 24,000t, of which 40 per cent consisted of the Medjoul variety, which is in high demand on European markets.
No comments yet