The tremendous post-harvest losses sustained in the developing world due to physical, nutritional and quality deterioration of stored foods by insects, and the detrimental impact of these losses on food security are well known. Although the application of plant materials and their extractives in stored food protection offers considerable potential for minimising these losses, such practices tend to be viewed as being backward, and in a number of cases, the efficacy and safety of a number of the plant materials concerned, has not been established. There is however a need to promote the use of plant materials and their extractives as stored food protectants, within the context of the sustainability, and environmental soundness of their use, while generating an interest in the development of research activities of relevance to improving the knowledge base- and the image of plant materials as stored food protectants.

This document is therefore designed to serve as a comprehensive reference source for plant materials and their extractives applied in stored food protection. Every effort has been made to include as many photographs as possible of the plants described. It is hoped that the document will generate more widespread interest in the use of the materials described, and in further studies of their efficacy and safety as stored food protectants.

M. Satin
Chief
Agro-industries and Post-harvest Management Service
FAO Agricultural Support Systems Division