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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0212.473 1996-1998 N---'~` T~r~,?~SrIC~v~7lZS?~,~, ~4D~Jr~"TrIQ~Z o. aox December 16, 1997 GC:,,.. , _ , ~ i Dear Council Chairman Arakaki: Please review the enclosed videotape which includes excerpts from the October 1, 1997 broadcast of KITV news and the August 25, 1997 broadcast of CBS national news. As KITV news reports, the high temperature forced air treatment (HTFA) developed by scientists at the University of Hawaii is an excellent altemative to irradiation for eliminating fruit flies on tropical fruit. It is now being used by Dole on Oahu, and units are also in use on Molokai and Kauai. This method is currently USDA approved for papaya and mango, and has been approved by New Zealand as a generic treatment for all quarantined fruit. Mr. Jay Shintaku of Dole Tropical has informed us that in addition to papaya, Dole has planted other tropical fruits because they anticipate being able to use the forced hot air treatment for quarantine requirements. This treatment is safe, effective, and noncontroversial with vastly wider public acceptance than irradiation. To provide you with additional information, we have included letters from both Dr. Paul Winkelman and Dr. Michael Williamson, inventors of the High Temperature Forced Air Treatment (HTFA). Dr. Williamson can be reached at 808-965-8806 or 808-943-1897. We encourage the count!! to support the HTFA treatment for papaya and other tropical fruit and to oppose the irradiation facility for many reasons, including the economic fact that when Dole's, Kauai's, and Molokai's non-irradiated papayas compete against the Big Island irradiated papayas, the Big Island is going to lose. For, as you can see from the video, on August 25, 1997, CBS national news conducted a poll that reported that 77% of Americans say they will not buy irradiated food. We have also enclosed documentation from 2 polls from a local radio station. These polls indicate that of more than 500 people responding, over 97% do not want the irradiator built here, even if only private funds are used. The irradiator has been falsely touted as the only solution to farmers' problems. That is simply not true, and the farmers and other people on this island need to have time to explore all possibilities. Irradiation is a highly controversial treatment, that will be rejected by many consumers and has already divided this community. In light of the availability of an effective, inexpensive, and non-controversial altemative such as HTFA, it makes no sense to t~ push forward with plans for an irradiator. Surely, our community deserves the opportunity to 1~ ~ resolve its differences and economic woes in a cooperative and constructive way. V In respect of these facts, we request that the County Council enact a one year moratorium on ~ ~ 1 the construction of the irradiator on the Big Island, while convening a citizens panel N ~ composed of people from both sides of the issue to research options and explore alternatives. The possibility of tropical fruit growers using a treatment that has none of the risks of irradiation gives the Council an opportunity to address the fruit fly problem in a manner that unlike irradiation, loses no consumers, and unites the public. A one year moratorium on construction of an irradiator, and a citizens panel drawn from representatives from both sides of the issue, would allow time for the community to examine the issues and arrive at the best solution. It doesn't make sense to rush into a potentially unsafe technology that faces so much local and national opposition, when an effective, well- accepted alternative exists. With your support, people on this island can work together to find solutions that will generate more profit and respect public opinion. We appreciate your time in reviewing these materials and look forward to hearing your thoughts on our proposal. Sincerely, h n Lorraine Sonoda-Fd' el M.D. Mark Cohen M.D. S~Gilbert M.D. Naomi Coe g Parents Against Irradiation Concerned Physicians of Hawaii 934-7994/961-0889 934-2000 Note: Attached video "Forced Hot Air Treatment for Export of Tropical Fruit" on file in Clerk's Office. rom PaulWhYNnan unlvarty o~plpry Fax'~AWpeailpB Paul WlnbYnaq Calgary, Mbarta (a0.1~i188 Papa. aft Novamaar t2, 1991 ]2~Ttli To~Mart CONn Department of Mechanical Engineering Universiy of Calgary Calgary. Alberta T2N 1N4 Canada November 12, 1997 Mark Cohen Hilo. Hawaii U.S.A. Dear. Mr. Cohen, Thank you for your inquiry into the use of High Temperature Forced Air (HTFA) treatments for tropical fruit. I will give you a quick history to help you understand the capabilities of the current machine. In 1988 at the University of Hawaii, Michael Williamson and I began working on a commercial-size machine capable of trearing tropical fruit according to the proficol developed by Dr. Jack Atxttstrong at USDA-ARS in Hilo. The new HTFA protocol was similar to the existing Vapor Heat {VH) protocol which was then (and still is) used as a quarantine treatment for fruit destined for Japan. Both protocols use hot air to heat Cite fruit such that any fruit fly eggs and lan•ae in the fruit are killed. The major difference is that, whereas VH demands that the relative humidity of the air be over 90 ;'b for the final hour of treatment, HTFA requires that it only be over 60° o ("dry heat"). The lower humidity reduces the likelihood of scalding damage to the fruit while maintaining quarantine standards. From an engineering point of view, HTFA is slightly easier to implement than vli. Several packers in Hilo have been using VH treatment chambers prior to 1988, shipping their fruit to Japan. Hot water double dip was used by those shipping to the U.S. mainland. Hot water was being phased out as HTFA was becoming commercially available. In 1990 or so, Amfac (now Tropical Hawaiian Products) purchased an HTFA chamber from a manufacturer on the west coast. A year or so later, they purchased a similar second unit. As I understand, they have been shipping fruit both to the U.S. mainland and Japan far several years. While providing certification services for USDA-APHIS, Dr. Williamson and I also developed our own commercial chamber at the University of Hawaii. After k} ing several different concepts, we developed a design which we were confident would work well. This protoi)•pe chamber was built within a standard, twenty-foot shipping container. This experimental unit was installed in Moloaa on Kauai. Certification runs were under wav when Iniki struck in 1992. After Kauai recovered from the hurricane, the certification process resumed and commercial runs began some time in 1993. The machine has perforzned very well and is still doing commercial treannents. It is being superseded by ....~~~..m..n.ernm enivFnryalcMpary Fav yW])3paL18p Paul WlnxPanN Calgary, NEaN W3~tNL188 Papa3dG MOVMnort],1WT 2Y4p:1a TO: MarF CPbn two newer, slightly improved chambers at the new state facility near the Lihue airport. We also have two chambers at Dole on Oahu and a unit on Molokai. To date in Hawaii, our chambers have only trzated papaya. A similar HTFA raeatment has been developed for mango and is currently an accepted treatment by USDA. These are the only two fruits that I am aware of that can use HTFA as a quarantine treatment for shipment to dte L.S. mainland. If you wish to treat other fruits, there must be a quarantine treatment accepted by USDA. For further information, you may wish to speak to Dr. Jack .9rntstrong at USDA-ARS-Hilo, or Mr. Ed L'yeda at liSDA-APHIS at the Hilo airport. [f hot air treatments aze available for other fruit, they should be ablz to tell }'ou. If there are no hot air treatments approved for the fruit you wish to ship, you will have difficulty shipping to the Li.S. mainland, at least in the short term. In the first instance, it appears that it will take a lot of time and money to test the protocol on every fruiUfruit fly combination. However, there is a strong push to make the HTFA a generic treattent, i. e.. ~X commodity exposed to the H"I'FA treatnent will be deemed to be fruit-tly free. We are confident that this will be a reality in the not-too-distant fuhire. New Zealand has already made that bold step. There aze now three sitzs in the South Pacific using the chamber that Michael and I developed at UH, shipping fruit into New Zealand. Most of the fruit are papaya, but eggplant has also been done and a small amount of mango. The treatment of squash has even been discussed. Thus, the future for HTFA as a general quarantine treatment looks bright indeed. The treatment also boasts of using no chemicals, nor does it suffer from public controversy, as is the case with irradiation. If you would like to purchase our top-of-the-line model, it will cost about $180,000 installed, ready-to-nm, including softwaze. (Bear in mind that this cost is not fixed and can vary according to site conditions.). This unit is constructed of stainless steel and will treat about 6000 lbs, in lugs or bins, in about 5 hours using either ~'H or HTFA. We can also offer }'ou a unit of mild steel capable of trzating 3000 ]bs which costs somewhat over $100,000 (we haverit yet determined the price). However, we would reconunerrd the larger model for several reasons. First, being constructed of stainless steel, maintenance is reduced and chamber life is extended. Second, we have a fabricator who has alreadv built six chambers of this type. Thz workmanship is superb, and we know we will have a chamber builtjust the way wz want it when it arrives on site. Finally, we find that the operations quickly outgrow the smaller model and owners aze soon looking for increaszd capacity' For added flexibility, this lazger unit is divided into two independently controlled subchambers, each subchamber treating 3000 lbs per batch. If you wish to have more details, you should also contact Michael Williamson at 956- 8806. He is currently out of town now, but will return azound December 1. I will be leaving for Hawaii tomorrow (November 13) and will be working at Dole (Oahu) from Nov. 14 to Nov. 26. I will be on site there as Ed Uyeda carves out fire certification runs for Dole's second chamber. I will be staying at Michael's residence during this time, and you can reach me at 943-1897. I hope this has answerzd most of your questions. .wmr.wwmemm univxngorcupuy x.z~. (d93)29dJ1189 Peul WlnbYnu;CNpuy, AlDerh l/93j28/i188 PepedaM Nevrnber 12, 19912219L6 TO'MrtF Cbhen Yours Sincerely, Paul Vl'inkelman - ~~i~nanuc4 ~ _ `-~.-~--r_ ~ alsuv~znly~ `~i~eziuil . 1741 Ala Moans Blvd. N34, ~ Honolulu, Hawaii 96815 C/- P.O. Box 614 U.S.A. Faz: (808) 956-9269 d Queenstown South /stand Phone: (8014) 943-1897 New Zealand Faz: 64-3-442-8733 Dr. Mark Cohen, 73 Puuhonu Place _ Hilo, Hawaii December 2, 1997 Dear Dr. Cohen, In response to your request I am writing to you about the irradiation facility proposed for the Hilo area. I am representing my own personal views after 30 years of professional experience in the state's agricultural industries. The letter head indicates that my views are expressed as private individual and not as a representative of the state agency for which I work. Currently, in Hilo, there is an excess disinfestation ' treatment capacity for export papaya, both to Japan and to the U.S. Mainland. The ringspot problem has greatly reduced • papaya supplies to the three major packing houses. An increase in treatment capability is clearly not required. Other islands in the State such as Oahu, Molokai and Kauai are expanding fruit exports using the relatively low cost disinfestation methods based upon heating the fruit. All three areas are employing the High Temperature Forced Air methods developed by Dr. Jack Armstrong and myself with great success. This technology is in no way controversial at the retail point of sale and conforms with the concept of "organic" processed commodities. Any fruit exporter would be able to clearly label his fruit as "non irradiated" in the retail market place and thus have a significant advantage over any irradiated product. Claims have been made that disinfestation methods based upon heat only apply to papaya. This is not the case as evidenced by the example of other Pacific Islands. The Cook Islands has had one of my treatment chambers for the past five years and is treating mango and papaya for the New Zealand market- Fiji has another of my machines and is treating eggplant and mango for export as well as papaya. Tonga is treating squash in one of my chambers. Recently New Zealand has mandated a "generic" treatment protocol for all tropical commodities stating that "any fruit which is a host for fruit fly and is treated in one of our chambers can be imported into New Zealand." In addition, the USDA-ARS laboratory in Hilo is investigating the application of heat disinfestation to other crops with great success. s _ It is my feeling that given the tight financial situation of the state and county governments and the extreme controversy of irradiation in the market place, now is not the time to commit public funds to such a venture. The high capital and operating costs will require a very large flow of commodities to justify the investment and after thirty years in the field I do not see that happening. It seems that a small number of fruit producers with very limited production capability are demanding a guarantee of a large investment of scarce public funds to support, at best, a marginal export effort. The private sector has been successful on Oahu and Molokai in implementing their own disinfesting facilities and are now reaping the financial rewards. The problem of our export agriculture is low production and uneven supply to the market, not a lack of treatment facilities. It would be unfortunate if the island of Hawaii became identified with "irradiation" since such a reputation could endanger all of our agr~CCUltural exports regardless of the method of post harvest treatment. Again let me stress these comments are my personal views and not those of any state agency. Sincerely: , J Michael R. Williamson, Ph.D. President. - "lH0 P01 DEC 08 '97 16:18 S~.o calm >Fw ~ ~ xoxw (100.1 9I3 Raaoelehtir Avenue 75.5686 Kuakiai Highway HUo, Hawaii 9ti7'd0 Kailua•Roaa. Hawau 96740 Phona: (e0~ 982-06~al PhoAr. (80B) 329.6633 1Vkwsline: (808T936-6529 Pax: (806) 328-7686 Faz: (808) 996-03a6 ~ ~ TO: Dlt. ltARR COHEN 8 DEC 1997 FROlIi -RUSH ROBGAT$. HENS DIRECTOR. RRBG-FH/KHLO-AR SUBJECTi FOOD IRRADIATOR SURVBY RESULTS H>SRS ARE THE DATA YOU REQUESTED FROM OUA •PONER POLL' 3URVl3YS~ THUIISDAY. 13 NOV 1997 "NOiIIA YOtk BUPPOR? THE' HUILDING OP A lRUIT IRRADIATION FACILITY 011 THE HIG 3SLAND IF ONLY PRIVATE FURDS HERE USDD FOA THE PROJECT7" YS$ 11 FOR 2. 1t NO S18 FOR 97. 9t TUlSPAY. 2.6 AUG 1997 "SHflOLD [ilNiATI CODIITY HUIS.D A FOOD IARADIATIO]1 FACILITY ON THE HIG ISLAND?° YES, 14 FOR 3. 3t >t0 s02 POA 96.71 ALL POLLB NERR RUN FOA 24 HOURS (5 AH TO 5 AN') ` i `~:~#~~ct~- Auss. NENa giro apsRATlolrs . ~ s.o.a..u.a?r...u 1~ ~ ~ ,