More Cesium 137 Found In Gourmet & Organic European Jam Brands
Have some cesium 137 with your toast.
Most people assume that organic jam or even better yet, European gourmet or organic (bio) jam would be a good option for quality and safety. In some respects that appears to be true but many of these high cost European jams have an unexpected surprise, cesium 137.
(Contaminated brands being sold in the US & Canada included towards the end with photos)
The Environmental Institute in Munich Germany produced a report in 2013 (English translation at the end of this report) that checked a wide variety of European jams for cesium 137 radioactivity. What they found was concerning. While the radioactivity levels were nowhere near the levels found in food soon after Fukushima in Japan they do show a clear problem. There is also no safe level of internal exposure. Cesium 137 is an artificial isotope that does not exist in nature, it comes from atomic bombs and nuclear reactor meltdowns. While low doses of these products would not make someone immediately ill they can contribute to health damage and accumulate over life. Cesium 137 ingested is slowly excreted from the body but can build up as someone consumes contaminated food on a regular basis. Cesium 137 has a biological half life of 70 days. This means if you consume cesium 137, half of it has been excreted back out of your body in 70 days. The time it stays in the human body can cause cellular damage and potentially lead to cancer. The US FDA level for government intervention is 1200 bq/kg of cesium 137 & 134 combined. This is the level where the FDA will bar the product from sale if they are made aware of it. This is not a guarantee of “safety” level. The intervention level in Japan is 100 bq/kg and the EU is 600 bq/kg.
Most of the cesium 137 found in these products is assumed to come from Chernobyl based on the fact that the ones with the most contamination are known to be contaminated by Chernobyl. Places like Bulgaria and Ukraine along with parts of eastern Europe, Finland and Sweden are known to have problems with cesium 137 in certain foods. Foods such as wild mushrooms and forest berries absorb higher levels of cesium 137 than other foods. Four of the samples tested that had contamination had berries from Canada but were European brand names. Why these products were contaminated is currently not confirmed. The brands are listed below in two tables (German and partial English) with the green flagged ones being no cesium, the red ones with the highest levels of cesium. Both of the “red” findings were organic brands of jam. The blueberry jams were more often contaminated than “mixed berry” jams that consists of raspberry, blackberry, strawberry in combinations.
On a similar note, following up on the Fior Di Frutta blueberry organic jam found to be contaminated in Japan, we obtained a jar. Our jar is from a different production run as it has a different expire date compared to the jars found in Japan. The jars in Japan that were tested were over 140 bq/kg in cesium 137 and tested by two labs.
A simple geiger counter was used to see if the jar had any detectable radiation. Please be aware that use of a geiger counter would pick up ALL gamma radiation found in the jam, including potassium 40 that is naturally occurring and found in some foods. So this simple test does not confirm that the jam has cesium 137 in it. We found .02 uSv/h of gamma activity coming from the jar. This rate is with background radiation subtracted. While the level isn’t alarming it is certainly interesting. We are saving the jar for future gamma spectroscopy to determine exactly what is in it.
The company that sells Fior Di Frutta jam released a statement after the news of the Japanese finding of cesium 137 in their product. While they did not deny the test findings in Japan, they did try to dismiss the problem. The company published some “field sweeps” for radiation and a test of another jar of jam, produced after they were alerted to the contamination problem. The testing shows that there may be gaps in the processes some companies use to declare “purity” of their products. The field sweeps failed to catch the contaminated blueberries processed into jam and sold to a distributor in Japan. The manufacturer displays Italy prominently on their marketing and labels but admits here their products are grown and produced in Bulgaria, a region partially contaminated by Chernobyl. The blueberries used are wild forest blueberries.
German radioactive jam report with English translations for brand names (below). Please check both language versions of the brand name as some are labeled with the foreign language brand name in North America.
These portions of the table are translated as such:
TABLE HEADINGS
Variety | Bought at | Price per 100g | Made in | Origin berries | cesium-137 (Bq / kg)
Top group is blueberry jam. Lower group is wildberry jam.
below table:
1 to the manufacturer, must not be declared 2 Radioactive contamination originates, according to experts most likely from those contained in packaging
Blueberries, the Migros Product Favorites possibly also of the cran berries 3 When blueberries share the value was higher than 100 Bq / kg
Color chart:
green: {= not detectable
yellow: {= up to 10 Bq / kg
orange: {= 10 to 50 Bq / kg
red: = {About the tolerance value of 100 Bq / kg
Report in German (below)
What of these radioactive jams can be bought in the US/Canada?
Some jams not on this picture list below can still be bought in the US/Canada through retailers online like this.
Many of the jams in the German report not readily found in the US are sold around the EU and in Asia.
St. Dalfour 
Sylt Blabär Jam (Ikea) 
Hero Jam
A full translation of the German report via Google Translate is below:
The resplendent heritage of the Czech
Test: All examined blueberry jams were radioactively contaminated
The meltdown at Chernobyl is almost forgotten . The nuclear reactor exploded
more than a quarter of a century in April 1986. But the devastating legacy of Chernobyl is still present – in the blueberry jam on our Breakfast table , for example. This shows a sample of Gesundheistipp . He had twenty Heide Lund Wild berry jams in the laboratory examined for cesium -137 . This material arrived in the disaster
Chernobyl in large Quantities into the environment. The lab found in all fourteen Blueberry jams cesium. Most preferably, the organic jams beamed
” The charming blueberry » by Sun Gate . per kilogram Mass jam the laboratory 133 Becquerels of cesium -137 ( see table).
The blueberries used for this purposethus contained about 200 Becquerel – calculated from the Fruit content of jam . This is twice as much as the Swiss
Tolerance value for wild berries 100 becquerels per kilo. Markus Zehringer , Radioactivity expert the Basel- City Canton lab , says: ” Such a trial would
the authorities complain about. ”
Also in the blueberry jam Darbo , Ottiger and Wilkin & Sons elevated levels were found to to 50 becquerels . ” There is no safe dose ” Was with the wild berry jams
also the organic product of Sun Gate most exposed . the Reason, most likely also contained in the Blueberries from Ukraine. According to the Munich Environmental Institute rate-independent experts , that food for children with be charged more than 10 becquerels should . Christina hacker by the Environment Institute
emphasizes that there is no give safe dose. radioactivity harms the cells and could thus cause cancer. “How well the body repair the damage may , from person to
Person differently . “Especially tricky the burden is on Children and pregnant women and People with reduced defenses . As compared to other berries
Blueberries are more common with Cesium loaded. The reason: They grow on acid forest soil . This binds the radioactive Fabric worse than clay Arable land. So he gets easier in the plants. However, ” to suck ” not all forest plants the same amount of Cesium from the soil. blueberries do this particularly strong.
The mixed forest fruits Jams in the cut test therefore also significantly better . because they consist mainly of Blackberries, raspberries and strawberries.
These come from arable
radioactive cesium unproblematic.
from Canada and the United States – the
two largest blueberry producer the world. Many areas still always heavily loaded However, use many jams Manufacturer berries from Eastern and Northern Europe. These are precisely the areas that the radioactive From Chernobyl’s fallout particularly were affected. the Swiss nuclear expert Stefan Füglister says: ” There are regions where
the ground is still very strong is contaminated with cesium -137 . “This not only applies to the Eastern States , but also for Finland , Sweden and Scotland as well as some
Areas in Austria and Bavaria. Stefan Füglister : ” You have other forest products such as mushrooms heavily loaded and game meat . his ” annoying for consumers :
The origin of the grapes must be based on the packaging is not specified be .
The health food stores Egli and L’ultimo Bacio from Zurich stated that they the offending Sun Gate products this batch immediately from the Take range . ” As a precaution,
“As Marianne Zehnder from the Health food store Egli says. She goes ” not assume that jam is hazardous to health . ” the also believes manufacturer Sun Gate . Have for the next production the company but less loaded Berries from Lithuania shopped . Also Jelmoli wants future less use contaminated berries. Migros Lidl and explain that their
Products below the recommended Value for children are lying . Migros check critical food regularly for radioactive residues . This also made savings and its suppliers and Ottiger Darbo , as spokesman Jürg Egger . of Jams were only small Amount eaten . In addition, is the legal Tolerance is not exceeded . This is alleged also Hero . The company let the radioactivity of raw materials always measure .
Sonja Marti
Many thanks to Edano and Mermaidje for their ongoing research efforts on this issue.
This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team
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