Radiological Protection Bulletin, No. 219, January/February 2000

Protecting domestic food producers after an accident

The abstract of the article is given here.

In the event of an accidental release of radionuclides into the environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) has a statutory responsibility to ensure that a wholesome and safe food supply is maintained to the population of England. MAFF also provides scientific advice on contamination of food by radioactivity to the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Executive. Where foods are produced domestically by individuals, ie in private gardens and allotments, MAFF has no statutory powers to prevent their harvest or consumption. MAFF must therefore rely solely upon the provision of appropriate advice to protect those domestic producers potentially at risk. Advice which has been given to such individuals and households during past nuclear emergency exercises has been based on assessments carried out for commercially produced foods. A study funded by MAFF has been undertaken to determine the adequacy of its current emergency procedures for protecting consumers of domestically produced foods ^{1, 2}. In particular, the study aimed to establish whether advice based on commercial food production would adequately protect the domestic consumer.

1 Prosser, L et al. Differences in activity concentrations and doses between domestic and commercial food production in England and Wales: Implications for nuclear emergency response. Chilton, NRPB-R310. (1999).

2 Brown, J et al. Differences bwtween activity concentrations and doses arising from domestic and commercial food production in England and Wales: Detailed results. Chilton, NRPB-M1081 (1999).

Joanne Brown and Lesley Prosser
National Radiological Protection Board
Chilton

Last reviewed: 3 November 2009