Food irradiation and energy transition were the key topics of the workshop “Nuclear Technology in Food Irradiation and Energy Transition,” held on November 29 in Campinas (SP), organized by Amazônia Azul Tecnologias de Defesa S.A. (AMAZUL), the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), and CEPID CancerThera.

The workshop is one of the initiatives resulting from the memorandum of understanding signed in September between AMAZUL and Unicamp, aiming at a cooperation agreement. CancerThera is a beneficiary of this agreement, with AMAZUL participating in the development of a laboratory project where research on radiopharmaceuticals for oncological patient care will be conducted.

The collaboration between the company and the university to meet the country’s needs was highlighted during the event’s opening, which included the presence of Prof. Dr. Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, Rector of Unicamp, Vice Admiral Newton de Almeida da Costa Neto, CEO of AMAZUL, and Prof. Dr. Celso Dario Ramos, principal investigator, vice-director of the CancerThera Executive Committee, and member of AMAZUL’s Scientific and Technological Committee.

“The meeting was very productive, achieving its main goal of fostering interaction between Unicamp and AMAZUL researchers. I hope this was a seed for other areas of Unicamp to promote similar meetings,” emphasized Ramos.

Food safety

In the event’s first roundtable, Prof. Dr. Marcelo Cristianini, from Unicamp’s School of Food Engineering, and Eros Carbi, AMAZUL’s Radiation Protection Supervisor, highlighted the role of irradiation technology in food safety. It was discussed as both a solution to reduce food production losses and waste and a means to protect consumer health.

Irradiation helps extend food shelf life (expanding export markets), prevent foodborne diseases, delay sprouting and ripening of produce, and reduce the use of preservatives and pesticides, among other benefits.

Cristianini cited projections from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which estimate that global food production must increase by 60% to feed a population expected to reach 9.1 billion by 2050. FAO also estimates that 1.3 billion tons of food are lost annually due to waste.

Eros Carbi, who discussed the technical and economic aspects of available irradiation technologies, highlighted studies from the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the WHO, one in ten people falls ill annually due to consuming contaminated food, and unsafe food consumption causes 420,000 deaths per year worldwide. Of this total, 30% are children under five years old.

Both speakers emphasized the challenge of raising consumer awareness of food irradiation benefits. “We need to improve transparency in food information, bring different knowledge areas together, and educate children,” Cristianini recommended. Besides raising public awareness, Eros Carbi stressed the importance of building irradiation facilities in Brazil, developing laboratory infrastructure, and establishing protocols for exporting irradiated products.

Energy transition

In the second part of the event, Leonardo Dalaqua, AMAZUL’s Nuclear Technical Coordinator, presented the technology of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and their strategic role in energy transition. These small reactors, with a capacity of less than 300 MWe (megawatts electric), are compact units that can be mass-produced and transported to installation sites to generate energy. As demand grows, additional modules can be added to the same plant.

Dalaqua noted that there are currently 108 SMR development projects worldwide, and it is crucial for Brazil to develop its own project to preserve national expertise in nuclear reactor construction.