Generic radiation treatments In 2006, USDA-APHIS published a pioneering rule providing generic low-dose radiation quarantine treatments to control insects. A generic treatment is a single treatment that controls a broad group of pests without adversely affecting the quality of a wide range of commodities. The rule approved radiation doses of 150 Gy for any tephritid fruit fly and 400 Gy for all other insects except the pupa and adult stages of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) [23]. The generic radiation treatments apply to all fresh horticultural commodities. Therefore, if a pest risk assessment demonstrates that no pupae or adult Lepidoptera are associated with a commodity, export approval can be forthcoming with no further research. The logic behind generic doses is that information on radiotolerance for a subset of species in a group can be extrapolated to related species to arrive at an effective generic dose [1**]. Traditionally, quarantine treatments are developed for one pest and commodity at a time, and research could take years to complete, so this firstever approval of a generic treatment was a giant step forward. Generic radiation treatments were the culmination of decades of research but not an end point. Research has since focused on: 1) development of specific doses for quarantine Lepidoptera not covered by the generic treatments; 2) reduction of dose levels for specific pests and commodities to shorten treatment time; 3) development of generic doses below 400 Gy for important groups of quarantine arthropods other than fruit flies; and 4) development of information on commodity tolerance and novel methods to reduce injury and extend shelf-life