THE Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority (APVMA) has given final approval for Ioteq's multi-award winning Isan technology to be used as a specific Citrus Canker treatment.
The Isan system, which uses iodine instead of chlorine for food sanitation and other applications, is a world-leading development that is rapidly being adopted throughout numerous industries across Australia.
Developed by Melbourne based technology firm Ioteq from a NASA concept, the Isan system is increasingly being used in Australia for post-harvest sanitation and disinfection, and for hydroponics and nursery, poultry and dairy applications. It has also been tested and acclaimed in the USA.
Citrus Canker is a major disease affecting citrus crops worldwide with potential devastating effect.
This new APVMA approval extension follows the company's Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) registration granted last year.
Now the citrus industry can install one system to handle all of their normal post harvest sanitation requirements and should a specific Citrus Canker treatment be required, the same system can be used, according to Ioteq.
The world class nature of the Isan system has resulted in it being awarded numerous prizes including the 2004 Inaugural DuPont Innovation Award for Agricultural Technology.
Also, recognition of the system's environmental, food safety and consumer health benefits has led to substantial support from Federal and State Governments.
By avoiding carcinogenic by-products, which can be an issue with other types of sanitisers and disinfectants, the Isan system has also received strong environmental support.
Importantly, with the iodine being supplied in sealed canisters, there are no OH&S issues.
Other major benefits of the Isan system include:
* the total elimination of pH monitoring and acid dosing
* accurate and automatic digital PPM dosing and recording
* full sanitation data logging and generation of quality control certificates
* significantly less corrosion
* automatic adjustment to organic load
* computerised control.
Additionally, with its PC-based computer control, Isan installations are easily operated and maintained and can be remotely linked for in-office monitoring and adjustment.