Radioactivity in food crops

Published levels of radioactivity in food crops from 21 countries and 4 island chains of Oceania are listed. The tabulation includes more than 3000 examples of 100 different crops. Data are arranged alphabetically by food crop and geographical origin. The sampling date, nuclide measured, mean radioactivity, range of radioactivities, sample basis, number of samples analyzed, and bibliographic citation are given for each entry, when available. Analyses were reported most frequently for 137Cs, 40K, 90Sr, 226Ra, 228Ra, plutonium, uranium, total alpha, and total beta, but a few authors also reported data for 241Am, 7Be, 60Co, 55Fe, 3H, 131I, 54Mn, 95Nb, 210Pb, 210Po, 106Ru, 125Sb, 228Th, 232Th, and 95Zr. Based on the reported data it appears that radioactivity from alpha emitters in food crops is usually low, on the order of 0.1 Bq.g-1 (wet weight) or less. Reported values of beta radiation in a given crop generally appear to be several orders of magnitude greater than those of alpha emitters. The most striking aspect of the data is the great range of radioactivity reported for a given nuclide in similar food crops with different geographical origins