Jamaica’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) has begun accepting applications for consultancy services on the design of a mango hot water treatment plant at the Norman Manley International Airport.
The request for tender follows on announcements by Agriculture Minister Audley Shaw, that Jamaica has been granted approval by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, for the import of Jamaican mangoes into the US. The approval, however, comes with strict food safety measures.
“A critical element of this is to facilitate and initiate the setting up of a modular hot water treatment facility at the Export Complex, Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, Jamaica. This would treat shipments intended for the EU market, though it would be constructed with the capability to meet the requirements of the US markets as well,” MICAF said in its request.
As described on jamaicaobserver.com¸ the hot water treatment is a common method applied at the beginning of the packaging process of mangoes. The treatment helps to eliminate major post-harvest diseases including mango anthracnose, which threatens mango export and consumption.
