Results of modern radiation-hygienic surveys of settlements of Bryansk Oblast of the Russian Federation bordering the Republic of Belarus. Part 1: Characteristics of the settlements

The article presents results of the study of consumption levels of different types of forest mushrooms by residents of the most contaminated south-western territories of the Bryansk region in the remote period after the Chernobyl accident. To collect and analyze the data, the method of face-to-face questionnaire survey of adult population was applied according to individual questionnaires developed by the staff of Federal Funded Institution of Science «Saint-Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev». In addition to general information, the questionnaires included questions about the species composition of the mushroom basket, the volume and proportion of consumption of each type of mushrooms by the respondent and his/her family members (both in the current and previous seasons). In the period from 2019 to 2022, within the framework of the “Program of joint activities of Russia and Belarus in the framework of the Union State for the protection of the population and rehabilitation of the territories affected by the Chernobyl NPP disaster”, the staff of the Saint-Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev conducted the questionnaire survey of the respondents. Based on the analysis of data from individual interviews with 1 756 adult respondents, the group (61% of respondents) that could potentially receive an additional contribution to internal dose from mushroom consumption was identified. According to the research, the average consumption of mushrooms by the local population (including those who excluded mushrooms from their diet) is 4,7 kg/year per person, while the average consumption of mushrooms by the group of respondents whose diet includes mushrooms is 7,9 kg/year per person. The structure of the mushroom diet for respondents who eat mushrooms is as follows: cep /boletus edulis (28%), chanterelles / cantharellus cibarius (19%), annulated boletus / suillus luteus (14%), orange-cup boletus / leccinium aurantiacum (11%), rough boletus / leccinium scabrum (10%), honey fungus / armilaria mellea (9%), whitish russula /russila delica and orange milkcap / lactarius deterrimus (5%), yellow knight / tricholoma equestre(3%), russules / russula (0,3%) and various rarely consumed mushrooms (oyster mushrooms, coral milkcaps, paxils, morels, stitches, bay bolete and champignons – 1%).

Consumption structure of forest mushrooms by residents of contaminated districts of the Bryansk region in the remote period after the Chernobyl accident

Varfolomeeva,

Zelentsova,

Repin

2023

Results of modern radiation-hygienic surveys of settlements of Bryansk Oblast of the Russian Federation bordering the Republic of Belarus. Part 2: Population’s food preferences (diet)

Romanovich,

Bazyukin,

Bratilova

et al. 2023

This study presents results of radiation-hygienic surveys of the Bryansk Oblast settlements bordering the Republic of Belarus. The data were obtained in the course of implementation of measures of the “Program of joint activities of Russia and Belarus within the framework of the Union State for the protection of the population and rehabilitation of the territories affected by the Chernobyl NPP accident” in 2019–2022. The second part of the study presents structure of population’s food preferences (diet). A general description of the diets of residents is given and the main types of local food products at the present stage of the radiation accident are identified. The current levels of consumption of locally produced food (and products of local origin) by residents of different age categories have been assessed. The obtained results of assessing the levels of food consumption have been compared with our own results of earlier studies and with the results of studies on the population of Russia and Belarus. Similarly with previous years, among agricultural food products the most consumed products are milk and potatoes and among natural food products are mushrooms. The established levels of consumption of local dairy products and beef have decreased over the past ten years and the resident consumptions of mushrooms and potatoes are in the same levels as before.

Preferred techniques for forest mushrooms cooking by residents of contaminated areas of the Bryansk region in the remote period after the Chernobyl accident

Varfolomeeva,

Zelentsova,

Repin

2024

The article presents results of the analysis of questionnaire survey data on preferences in the choice of cooking methods of different types of forest mushrooms by residents of the most contaminated south-western districts of the Bryansk region in the remote period after the Chernobyl accident. In the period from 2019 to 2022, the employees of Federal Budgetary Institution of Science «Saint-Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene after Professor P.V. Ramzaev» conducted a face-to-face questionnaire survey of the adult population. In addition to general questions about the respondent, the questionnaires included questions about the species composition of the mushroom basket, the volume and proportion of consumption of each type of mushroom by the respondent and his family members (both in the current and last year), as well as methods of culinary processing of the mushrooms consumed. Based on the analysis of individual survey data, a group of 1 311 respondents, whose diet included various types of mushrooms, was selected. Analysis of the survey results showes that respondents prefer to process a large proportion of freshly picked forest mushrooms (59%) for long-term storage (pickling, freezing, drying, salting, etc.); 41% of mushrooms are consumed immediately. The most popular pretreatments of freshly picked mushrooms are washing and boiling (34 and 26%, respectively). When freezing, pickling and pickling up to 97% of respondents carry out pre-treatment (rinsing, soaking and / or boiling) of freshly picked mushrooms. Less popular methods of the mushroom preparation (from 2 to 4%) are pickling, drying and frying of fresh mushrooms with their subsequent preservation. Thus, the majority of respondents actively use various types of culinary processing with the use of preliminary stages of technological processing in the form of rinsing, soaking and (or) boiling. The use of the above methods of pre-cooking of freshly harvested mushrooms leads to a decrease in the 137Cs content in the consumed product.