3.23 A SURVEY OF RADIOACTIVE RESIDUES IN FOODS BEFORE AND AFTER 195: EVIDENCE OF POSSIBIE FALLOUT CONTAMINATION By Wendell C. Wallace and Laug P. Edwin Food and Drug Administration U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare two This report covers results of a survey conducted over the past years to determine to what degree foods may have become contaminated with e radioactive fallout. It has been assumed that no significant man-mad the year the 1945, to prior d occurre have could radioactive contamination Foods d. explode were devices nuclear ry first experimental and milita produced before and after this critical date have therefore been examined for total radioactive content adjusted for the presence of potassium 0, It is a widely distributed naturally occurring radioactive isotope. possible that other naturally occurring radioactive substances may contribute to the total. This contribution is extremely small, and while it may vary from food to food there is no reason to expect it to vary with time. Consequently if we consider the radioactive content of all pre-'hS foods as a base line, any increase over this in food produced since 1945 can be interpreted as man-made radioactive contamination. This contamination is presently contributed mainly by fallout from weapons testing, but it can be expected also to reflect the presence of nuclear power plants and other applications. In January 1957, in response to an appeal by the Food and Drug Administration, nearly a thousand samples of food antedating 1945 were submitted, These foods came from private homes and the food industry; some even from the caches of the Shackleton and Byrd Antarctica expedi- tions dating back to 1906, In addition, an equal number of post-'5 samples were collected mostly from retail outlets. The program is now current, with certain items under more intensive surveillance than others. The following categories were examined for total radioactivity: vegetables, fruits, fruit juices, sea foods, dairy products, bread, meat products, wheat, sugars, jams and jellies, cocoa aid cocoa beans, tea, Nearly half of the samples analyzed were fruits and vegetables. Results I. Vegetables. Analyses of the following number of samples of different vegetables, about half of each of which were produced before 1945, revealed that the post-'4S samples showed no significant increase in total radioactivity: potatoes, 29; corn, 90; beans, 132; peas, 92; beets and turnips, 40; carrots, 30; spinach, 27 and miscellaneous, 90. Cont de For delivery at 72nd Annual Convention, Association ofOfficial Agricul tural Chemists, Washington, D, C., October 15, 1958, 10:00 a.m., EST. ~ 9; «