Farmed mushrooms in Fukushima forests test safe for radiation
Sakai M, Watanabe M, Kanao Koshikawa M, Furukawa S, Takechi S
Foraging
If you forage or grow mushrooms near contaminated or industrial land, this study shows which soil layers actually control how much of that contamination ends up in your dinner.
After the Fukushima nuclear accident, growers worried that outdoor mushroom farming in nearby forests would produce food too radioactive to eat. Researchers grew two popular edible mushrooms on cultivation beds at 14 forest sites and found radioactive cesium levels far under the safety limit for both species. Interestingly, one mushroom absorbed radiation mainly through deep soil contact while the other picked it up from the leafy litter on top, meaning farmers could use different soil or covering tricks depending on which mushroom they're growing.
Key Findings
Cesium-137 levels in Lyophyllum decastes (0.4-12 Bq/kg, mean 2.2) and Lepista nuda (0.2-42 Bq/kg, mean 8.0) stayed well below Japan's 100 Bq/kg food safety threshold across all 14 forest sites.
The two species absorbed radiocesium differently: Ly. decastes tracked contamination in litter and multiple soil layers, while Le. nuda tracked upper soil and leaf mold specifically.
Transfer factors measuring how readily each species pulled cesium from soil (2.72 x 10^-5 m2/kg and 5.72 x 10^-4 m2/kg) were roughly ten times lower than those seen in wild mushrooms.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists tested two edible mushroom species grown on outdoor cultivation beds across 14 Fukushima forest sites and found radioactive cesium levels well below Japan's food safety limit, suggesting mushroom farming can safely resume in areas affected by the 2011 nuclear accident.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Radiocesium uptake in two fungal bed-cultivated edible mushroom species in forests in Fukushima, Japan.
Mushrooms have long been valued as food resources, but past nuclear accidents disrupted production and shipment due to radiocesium contamination. After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, limit...
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