EFFECTS OF PROCESSING ON RADIONUCLIDE CONTENT OF FOOD - IMPLICATIONS FOR RADIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS

Published information on the effects of processing on the radionuclide content of food has been reviewed. Data are scarce; the majority of t he available information concerns Cs-137, Sr-90 and I-131, with some d ealing with S-35, Pb-210 and Po-210. For broad assessments of doses to critical groups from controlled releases, processes that can be carri ed out on a domestic or local scale are of greatest relevance. In this case, food can be prepared in various ways and cooking liquors can al so be consumed, either directly or in the form of sauces. Consequently , when making estimates of intakes of activity, it would be reasonable to assume that, for the majority of food items and most radionuclides , effectively no loss occurs as a result of processing, provided that the activity concentrations in the foodstuff relate to the edible port ion. More information on the behaviour of potentially volatile radionu clides during cooking would however be useful. Recommendations are mad e about the presentation of data on food processing.