A Simple and Rapid Method for Reducing Radiocesium Concentrations in Wild Mushrooms (Cantharellus and Boletus) in the Course of Cooking

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many species of mushrooms are known accumulators of radioactive cesium (137Cs and 134Cs). Even years and decades after major nuclear accidents, especially those at Chernobyl and Fukushima, mushrooms exhibit high concentrations of these radionuclides. We investigated a simple method for reducing the activity of radiocesium in wild mushrooms (chanterelles, Cantharellus cibarius; and boleti, Boletus edulis) during cooking. The juice generated while cooking mushrooms contains a relatively high fraction of the total cesium. The amount of juice can be increased by washing the mushrooms with water prior to cooking. By removing the juice, up to 29% of the radiocesium can be easily removed from chanterelles. Because boleti have a lower affinity for cesium, activity levels were lower in boleti than in chanterelles. The fraction of radiocesium in the juice was lower in boleti than in chanterelles.