Effect of methyl bromide on the quality of cold stored table grapes and pome fruit packed for export: general information and overview of research findings

摘要

The USA market is an important export market for table grapes' and pome fruit from South Africa. Phytosanitary regulations imposed on all South African fruit exported to the USA result in stringent market access criteria due to the occurrence of phyto-sanitary pests in South Africa. During the recent past, samples of consignments of fruit destined for export to the USA, were subjected to pre-clearance inspection by Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) officials of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to ensure that consignments were free of actionable insect pests. If pre-cleared, fruit were subjected to the mandatory cold-sterilisation period of approximately 21 days at -0.5°C to kill off internal feeders such as fruit flyand codling moth. The pre-clearance inspections caused various logistical challenges to producers and sometimes resulted in high rejection rates, which in turn made it difficult for marketers to sustain predictable supply to the USA. Therefore, measuresto reduce the impact of pre-clearance inspection on fruit exported to the USA, namely methyl bromide fumigation and irradiation, were investigated to ascertain effects on post-storage fruit quality. Although both phytosanitary treatments have been approved by APHIS for use on fruit, it was imperative to assess the effect of these phytosanitary treatments on storage quality of fruit subjected to packaging and logistical formats utilised for fruit exported from South Africa. This communication discussesgeneral information on methyl bromide, and some of the recent research findings on the effect of methyl bromide fumigation on fruit quality.