Development of Seafood Radioactivity Inspection Device

Ensuring food safety is essential for protection of the public; hence, the Republic of Korea has established standards for management of radioactive materials in food. In Korea, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Notice No. 2023-13 specifies regulatory criteria for radioactive materials in seafood, the maximum level having been set at 100 Bq/kg for 134 Cs+ 137 Cs and 131 I, respectively. Radioactivity inspection currently being conducted in Korea has limitations such as the inability to preserve the original form of seafood and the significant time required for pretreatment and radiation measurement. To overcome these limitations, we designed, using Monte Carlo simulations, a seafood radioactivity inspection device based on polyvinyl toluene (PVT) plastic scintillators for fast screening. The minimum detectable activity (MDA) for 137 Cs and 131 I in three types of seafood (i.e., dried laver seaweed, raw oyster, and fishcake) was calculated to estimate the performance of the developing inspection device. It was found that the inspection system could provide good performance in determining compliance with regulatory standards on a near-real-time basis. The reliability of simulation models was verified by conducting experiments with actual seafood and background-radiation measurements. The seafood radioactivity inspection device developed in the present study is expected to significantly contribute to ongoing efforts to ensure seafood safety.