radioactive food

Both in baby food and in total adult food, the specific activities of the radionuclides lead-210, radium-226 and radium-228 dominate

With the essential elements for nutrition taken up from the soil, also radioactive substances get into the plants and thus into the food chain. Some foods contain small amounts of radioactive elements. Food can gain this radioactivity in a few ways:

• Uptake: roots of plants take in radionuclides from the soil.

• Deposition: radioactive particles in the air settle onto crops.

• Bioaccumulation: radionuclides accumulate in animals that ingest plants, feed, or water containing radioactive material.

Knowledge of the content of natural radioactive substances in food is necessary to estimate the radiation exposure to man resulting from the ingestion of food.

The knowledge of the natural level of radioactivity in food is necessary, among others, to be able to recognise and evaluate changes resulting from impact of humans. This is e.g. essential for decisions to be taken on the utilization of areas that have been radioactively contaminated by mining.

There is a surprising amount of everyday items that are radioactive.

Brasil Nuts and Bananas are well known as red meat, potatoes , carrots water and avocados.

Natural radiation in food does not require any special actions because the radiation levels are extremely low.