"At the facilities, exposure to radiant energy such as gamma rays renders any bugs unable to reproduce on the long journey to the U.S. Insects are in effect, sterilized, which does not actually kill the bug living inside the mango at the time. The energy waves directly attack the molecular structure that form the pest’s DNA. (The European Union lifted its own ban on Indian mangos this summer, but does not approve of irradiation treatment. Mangos destined for Europe are instead submerged in water at 48 degrees Celsius.)"
It doesn't sound like an intrinsically good thing for humans to be consuming food processed this way either...
FWIW, Norway irradiates almost all of its imported spices, and has been doing so since 1982. It's done using gamma rays. The technique is actually recommended by the WHO and the UN's FAO. Wikipedia says
"a large amount of independent research has confirmed irradiation to be safe [5][6][7][8][9]"
and also contains the gem
"Irradiated food does not become radioactive, just as an object exposed to light does not start producing light."
It doesn't sound like an intrinsically good thing for humans to be consuming food processed this way either...