Radiocesium Contamination in Samples of Blueberries Jams Collected in Stores of NE Italy (2013-2017)

The monitoring of radioactivity in foodstuffs is carried out for the purposes of food safety in order to follow the evolution of the contamination as result of incidents that occurred both in the past (eg Chernobyl) and in more recent times (eg, Fukushima). Then, the movement of goods from these countries to European Union may cause the propagation of foods potentially toxic for health. At the Port of Trieste, in the period of September 2013, some loads of blueberries (Vaccinum mirtyllus L.) were examined within the application of EC Regulation 733/2008, on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in the countries affected by the nuclear accident of Chernobyl in 1986. The fruits came from Ukraine and were intended for the food preparations containing blueberries, in particular jams and marmalades. As in some cases significant values of Radiocesium concentrations (Cesium-137) were found in blueberries, though below the limit of 600 Bq/kg as required by the Regulations, it was decided to verify whether the presence of this contaminant in the raw material at the tested levels could interest the finished products. In this work, we have therefore collected and analyzed some samples of concentrated blueberries products in different large stores, in order to verify the magnitude of the possible contamination by radio Cesium.