Shelf life extension of Ginger using Gamma Irradiation

Gamma irradiation is the useful method for the sterilization of the fruits and vegetables which helps in the reduction of the microbial load on the food materials and in return enhance their shelf lives. Ginger is an important vegetable and spice which is used all over the world including Pakistan. It is used for various purposes in addition to cooking. It already has a long shelf life usually, to make its survival better by rendering it microbe free the method of gamma irradiation is used in order to sterilize it for longer use and for the reduction of microbial load .The main reason for spoilage of ginger is fungal invasion. Spread plate method was used to check the relative microbial growth and 0.5 and 1 kGy were the doses which used to check relative growth at the room temperature and the best results were observed at 1 kGy and the microbial load was really reduced. Shelf life extension through this method was 6-7 days.