Attack of the Radioactive Berries

Eat at your own risk. Fabiangamerogonzalez, Wikimedia Commons

A batch of cherniki, the popular, dark-colored wild Russian blueberry, was pulled from a market outside Moscow last week. The reason? Dangerous radioactive material.

The 10-kilogram portion was pulled from a market stall and taken away for testing when it was detected to have excess levels of Cesium-137, Interfax.ru reported. The berries were later destroyed, preventing any harm done by this chemical.

How exactly the radioactive material made its way into the berries is anyone's guess. Cesium-137 is a byproduct of nuclear power plant and weapon activity, and, once it enters the environment, is easily picked up by plant and fungal organisms. Hence its presence in the berries.

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