Abstract
The monitoring of radioactivity in foodstuffs is carried out for the purposes of food safety in order to follow the evolution of the contamination as result of incidents that occurred both in the past (eg Chernobyl) and in more recent times (eg, Fukushima). Then, the movement of goods from these countries to European Union may cause the propagation of foods potentially toxic for health.
 
 At the Port of Trieste, in the period of September 2013, some loads of blueberries (Vaccinum mirtyllus L.) were examined within the application of EC Regulation 733/2008, on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in the countries affected by the nuclear accident of Chernobyl in 1986.
 
 The fruits came from Ukraine and were intended for the food preparations containing blueberries, in particular jams and marmalades.
 
 As in some cases significant values of Radiocesium concentrations (Cesium-137) were found in blueberries, though below the limit of 600 Bq/kg as required by the Regulations, it was decided to verify whether the presence of this contaminant in the raw material at the tested levels could interest the finished products. In this work, we have therefore collected and analyzed some samples of concentrated blueberries products in different large stores, in order to verify the magnitude of the possible contamination by radio Cesium.
Highlights
The plant of Blueberry (Vaccinum sp.) belongs to the family of Ericaceae and is characterized by a root system called "rhizome"
The fruits came from Ukraine and were intended for the food preparations containing blueberries, in particular jams and marmalades
The rhizome grows horizontally within the first few inches of the organic layer of the soil even for many meters. It is formed by endotrophic-mycorrhiza that possess a high capacity for mobilization and absorption of mineral salts from the soil, to many species of mushrooms. This property is common to all Ericacee plants and can lead sometimes to high values of radio-contamination from Cs-137
Summary
The plant of Blueberry (Vaccinum sp.) belongs to the family of Ericaceae and is characterized by a root system called "rhizome". The rhizome grows horizontally within the first few inches of the organic layer of the soil even for many meters. It is formed by endotrophic-mycorrhiza that possess a high capacity for mobilization and absorption of mineral salts from the soil, to many species of mushrooms. This property is common to all Ericacee plants and can lead sometimes to high values of radio-contamination from Cs-137. It has been shown that the Blueberries plant can be considered as an indicator of air pollution (Deyeva & Gerasimenko, 1994) and environmental pollution in general, as well as for other metals (Deyeva & Maznaya, 1992)
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