Radiological impact from 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”

The food industry marketing is promoting new nutrient sources marketed as “superfood” exploding in popularity due to their claimed benefits in boosting the health system. “Superfood” products gain popularity among consumers year by year, due to marketing and dietitian's recommendations. These f...

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Main Authors: F. Piñero-García, R. Thomas, E. Forssell-Aronsson, M. Isaksson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Applied Food Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502225000046
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author F. Piñero-García
R. Thomas
E. Forssell-Aronsson
M. Isaksson
author_facet F. Piñero-García
R. Thomas
E. Forssell-Aronsson
M. Isaksson
author_sort F. Piñero-García
collection DOAJ
description The food industry marketing is promoting new nutrient sources marketed as “superfood” exploding in popularity due to their claimed benefits in boosting the health system. “Superfood” products gain popularity among consumers year by year, due to marketing and dietitian's recommendations. These food products can contain traces of radioactive elements such as 210Po, which has been identified as humans’ carcinogens. Therefore, the ingestion of 210Po, even at trace levels, could have an important radiological impact on human health. For that reason, the aim of the current study is to determine the radiological impact of 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”. 210Po was detected in all samples analysed. The range of activity concentration was 0.09–40 Bq·kg-1, with an average activity concentration of 4 ± 8 Bq·kg-1. The median levels of 210Po in groups investigated decreased as follows: Seaweed (3.0 Bq·kg-1) > Fungi (2.4 Bq·kg-1) > Algae (1.5 Bq·kg-1) > Botanical (0.7 Bq·kg-1) > Insect (0.09 Bq·kg-1). As a result, the radiation dose exposure for consumers could increase around 1 – 90 μSv/y, depending on superfood product. On average, the inclusion of those products in the Swedish diet could increase between 2 and 12 % the total dose received by 210Po and food consumption.
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spelling doaj-art-dde65199775d4e009f6143de4375a25e2025-08-20T03:45:12ZengElsevierApplied Food Research2772-50222025-06-015110069410.1016/j.afres.2025.100694Radiological impact from 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”F. Piñero-García0R. Thomas1E. Forssell-Aronsson2M. Isaksson3Department of Medical Radiation Sciences, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg SE-413 45, Sweden; Corresponding author.Department of Medical Radiation Sciences, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg SE-413 45, SwedenDepartment of Medical Radiation Sciences, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg SE-413 45, Sweden; Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg SE-413 45, SwedenDepartment of Medical Radiation Sciences, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg SE-413 45, SwedenThe food industry marketing is promoting new nutrient sources marketed as “superfood” exploding in popularity due to their claimed benefits in boosting the health system. “Superfood” products gain popularity among consumers year by year, due to marketing and dietitian's recommendations. These food products can contain traces of radioactive elements such as 210Po, which has been identified as humans’ carcinogens. Therefore, the ingestion of 210Po, even at trace levels, could have an important radiological impact on human health. For that reason, the aim of the current study is to determine the radiological impact of 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”. 210Po was detected in all samples analysed. The range of activity concentration was 0.09–40 Bq·kg-1, with an average activity concentration of 4 ± 8 Bq·kg-1. The median levels of 210Po in groups investigated decreased as follows: Seaweed (3.0 Bq·kg-1) > Fungi (2.4 Bq·kg-1) > Algae (1.5 Bq·kg-1) > Botanical (0.7 Bq·kg-1) > Insect (0.09 Bq·kg-1). As a result, the radiation dose exposure for consumers could increase around 1 – 90 μSv/y, depending on superfood product. On average, the inclusion of those products in the Swedish diet could increase between 2 and 12 % the total dose received by 210Po and food consumption.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502225000046Naturally occurring radionuclidesRadioactivityInsectsRadiation doseRadiotoxicity
spellingShingle F. Piñero-García
R. Thomas
E. Forssell-Aronsson
M. Isaksson
Radiological impact from 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”
Applied Food Research
Naturally occurring radionuclides
Radioactivity
Insects
Radiation dose
Radiotoxicity
title Radiological impact from 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”
title_full Radiological impact from 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”
title_fullStr Radiological impact from 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”
title_full_unstemmed Radiological impact from 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”
title_short Radiological impact from 210Po in food marketed as “superfood”
title_sort radiological impact from 210po in food marketed as superfood
topic Naturally occurring radionuclides
Radioactivity
Insects
Radiation dose
Radiotoxicity
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502225000046
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AT rthomas radiologicalimpactfrom210poinfoodmarketedassuperfood
AT eforssellaronsson radiologicalimpactfrom210poinfoodmarketedassuperfood
AT misaksson radiologicalimpactfrom210poinfoodmarketedassuperfood