Radio service journalistic blog

Which foods are still contaminated today?

Four decades after the Chernobyl disaster, most agricultural products in the southwest are safe. According to experts, grains, vegetables, dairy products and meat no longer have any significant radioactive contamination.

The radioactive cesium-137, which can still be detected today, has shifted to deeper soil layers in fields. As a result, the cultivated plants can hardly absorb it. However, forest mushrooms and game meat from certain regions continue to cause concern.

This is because high doses of cesium-137 are considered questionable; they are associated with radiation sickness and a higher risk of cancer, for example.

Why are forest mushrooms affected?

This is due to the forest floor: here, the cesium remains in the upper humus layer because leaves, needles, and branches cover the soil. When these are decomposed, cesium returns to the plants and leaves via the roots. In autumn, they fall to the ground again - and are decomposed again. This creates a closed cycle.

The upper humus layer of the forest floor is also home to the largest part of the fungi, the so-called mycelium. This network of threads stores the radioactive cesium and passes it on to the above-ground part of the fungus together with nutrients.

Some mushrooms accumulate more cesium than others: bread-stubbled mushrooms and chestnut boletus, for example, can be highly radioactively contaminated. Porcini mushrooms and chanterelles, on the other hand, which are among the most popular edible mushrooms, have only a medium load, even if they come from risk areas.

Why are wild animals also affected—especially wild boars?
Roe deer and deer are hardly a problem because they only eat aboveground plants. Wild boars, on the other hand, dig in the ground in search of food—and particularly like to eat deer truffles.

This fungal species, which grows underground, accumulates cesium-137 particularly strongly, says Carolin Löw from the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office (CVUA) in Stuttgart. Therefore, wild boars in certain regions can still be heavily contaminated today.

Is the forest soil contaminated everywhere in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate?
The contamination varies regionally—depending on where the so-called fallout fell as radioactively contaminated rain after the reactor disaster. The southeast of Baden-Württemberg, especially the districts of Biberach and Ravensburg, is severely affected.

In the last 40 years, the whole thing has halved—but is still four times the limit.

District Huntsman Dieter Mielke

In the district of Biberach, around 20 percent of the wild boars tested still exceed the legal limit of 600 becquerels per kilogram of meat. District hunter Dieter Mielke, who has been operating a measuring station for hunters for 20 years, explains: "For me, it's a maximum of 1500 to 2000 becquerels. So that means that in the last 40 years the whole thing has halved - but still four times the limit value. That's why we continue to check - and it will stay that way."

The load on wild boars varies seasonally, depending on the food supply. In winter, more samples exceed the limit value because the wild boars then dig more in the soil.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, on the other hand, the situation has eased significantly. In the Palatinate Forest and the Hunsrück, no limit values have been exceeded for over ten years, which is why the obligation to control was lifted there two years ago.

How is it ensured that contaminated meat does not end up on the market?
After the disaster, limit values for food were introduced and control systems were set up. In Baden-Württemberg, in affected districts such as Biberach, Ravensburg or Freudenstadt, every wild boar killed must even be tested for radioactive contamination.

Meat that exceeds the limit value is disposed of. According to Jägermeister Mielke, hunters receive compensation of over 200 euros per animal for this—this is to prevent illegal marketing. In 2025, such a compensation payment was made for almost 500 wild boars in Baden-Württemberg. 

The checks and taking of samples are primarily carried out by the hunters, who are legally considered food business operators. However, the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Offices (CVUAs) also operate measuring points and laboratories for central evaluation and monitoring.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the State Investigation Office (LUA) in Speyer continues to carry out risk-oriented random checks—at processors, in trade, and in the catering industry. Fruit and vegetables, meat, and cereals are tested, explains Andreas Hoffmann from the LUA. "In over ten years, not a single sample has been above the maximum level."

How great is the health risk—and how can it be minimized?
The risk is very low—simply because we don't often catch wild mushrooms and game anyway.