For years a fruit fly that has caused damage to fruits and vegetables in Asia, Africa, the Pacific and parts of South America had been regarded as different species in these regions.

This created trade problems as, for instance, African countries could not export to other regions which feared that they would be importing food products containing the destructive foreign species of the fly.

However, results of research published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on Monday show that it is, in fact, the same pest.

The five-year research was an international collaborative effort involving close to 50 researchers from 20 countries and coordinated by FAO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Jorge Hendrichs who works with the FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, based in Vienna, Austria, spoke to Sandra Ferrari about the research and measures to control the pest.

Duration: 4’26”