Northbrook
ILL. - At one time, Jim Corrigan was, perhaps, the most vociferous
proponent of irradiated produce in the Midwest.
But the category seems to have left him behind.
Not that Corrigan, president of Carrot Top Inc., an independent retail
produce outlet in the Northern Chicago suburb of Northbrook, has changed
his mind.
It’s just that, apparently, irradiation has outgrown him and
his store.
Carrot Top, at one time, was one of the few stores that regularly
carried irradiated produce, thanks in large part to its proximity
to irradiation treatment facility.
But, in August 2000, Hawaii Pride LLC, a new company based in Hilo,
opened an irradiation facility in conjunction with San Diego Based
Titan Corp. The technology, dubbed SureBeam Electronic Pasteurization,
uses X-rays to kill fruit flies and other pests.
Supporters such as Corrigan say it eliminates the need for toxic chemical
fumigants, prolonged heat treaments or nuclear radiation - an alternative
that had been considered - to comply with federal export regulations.
More that three years later, irradiated produce is finding its way
into new markets across the U.S.
Before the plant went into full operation, the product grown in Hawaii
was shipped to the Chicago treatment facility and distributed from
there. Carrot Top always had a regular order placed for the tree ripened
fruit.
Now, Carrot Top rarely carries irradiated produce, even though Corrigan
insists that he still believes that irradiated fruit is unequalled,
as far as flavor is concerned.
“We sell a lot of papaya here when it is irradiated,”
he said. “It’s a flavor issue, not a safety issue. It’s
tree ripened. And that’s where our sales were coming from. We
were able to move about 10 - 20 cases a week, which is a lot for a
little retail store.” He still asks for product.
“My whole thing with the guys in Hawaii was, just don’t
forget me,” Corrigan said. “After that happened, I talked
to them and they said, ‘Well, what do you want us to do.’
I asked them to fly 10 - 20 cases a week to me. Obviously they don’t
want to do that.”
Corrigan built a customer following with his line of irradiated produce.
“That was how it got started because they had to come here because
they had no facility in Hawaii,” he said. “So the product
was coming here to be treated and then going downtown. But they built
there facility in Hawaii, and there was no reason to do that anymore.
The product was coming into Chicago and going out all over.
“Obviously, it needed to go to distributors for retail.”
When it’s available, Carrot Top still carries irradiated products.
Sophisticated customers know the difference between conventionally
treated and irradiated papayas, Corrigan said.
“A papaya customer, it’s not like somebody buying peaches
or nectarines or something like that,” he said. “They’re
looking for good summer fruit and they come in.” Sometimes they’re
dissappointed and sometimes they’re happy with it. But they’re
always looking for that because they know that.
“But, with papaya, you either have the customer or you don’t.
There’s some education and development of the market. But it’s
not a piece of fruit that your going to put out and sample it.”
Tree ripened fruit is noticeably better, Corrigan said, adding that
irradiating the product is the best means to get that desired flavor.
“Our customers are people who go to Hawaii,” he said.
“They have really good papayas in Hawaii. They come back here,
and they’re tasteless. Or they’re the other types, from
Mexico or the Caribbean or other places.
“With irradiation in produce, it’s clearly never an issue
of safety. With meat and poultry there’s a clear safety issue.
Even if the customer doesn’t understand it, the industry does.
Certainly, there’s some safety issues there, but thats not the
overall driving issue. It really came down to how it fit in. We have
heat treated. This is going to cost more, so why would you do this?
Where’s the value? Well, the value is, it’s tree ripened.”
