unspoiled news , epicure : your earth-ball are probably not radioactive . scientist say Burgundy earthnut institute in radioactive European stain are still safe to eat on . The researchers release their findings yesterday in the journalBiogeosciences[PDF ] .
The chunky , odiferous fungicalled truffle are both a delicacy and something of an environmental alarm system organisation . They raise underground , tip into soil and tree roots through small filaments called mycelia . Nutrients , mineral , and other environmental molecules cumulate in the earthnut . When the soil is robust and healthy , this is a effective thing .
But the territory in Europe is not wholly healthy . TheChernobyl atomic disasterin 1986 released massive sum of radioactive isotopes like Cesium-137 , which chop-chop spread across the USSR and Europe . Thirty years later , the environment still has n’t wholly recovered .
" Much of the continent ’s topsoil layer are still radioactively contaminate , " lead source Ulf Büntgen saidin a press release . taint in the grime seeps into Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and fungus kingdom , which are then consumed by brute , broadcast radiation up the solid food chain . But it seems that some specie are affected more than others .
The researchers followed truffle - hunting dogs like Miro ( pictured above ) through timberland and plantations in Switzerland , Germany , France , Italy and Hungary . They were wait specifically for Burgundy truffles ( Tuber aestivum ) , as the truffle ’s broad geographical kitchen stove would allow them to sample the same species in many dissimilar positioning .
The researchers charter their earth-ball back to the lab . They cleaned the fungus , ground them up , and scanned them for Cs-137 . To their surprise , they did n’t find much . “ All specimens reveal peanut radiocaesium absorption , ” the author write in their paper , “ thus providing an all clear for truffle hunter and cultivators in Europe as well as dealers and customers from around the world . ”
So what ’s the deal ? Why doesT.aestivumget a free radiation pass ? " We really do n’t know , " Büntgen squeal in the press release . " We will , however , continue to spatially expand our search to admit truffles from regions that were so far not considered — the more the better . "
