title: Distribution of radioactive cesium ((134)Cs Plus(137)Cs) in a contaminated Japanese soybean cultivar during the preparation of tofu, natto, and nimame (Boiled Soybean).
abstract: We investigated the fate of radioactive cesium ((134)Cs plus (137)Cs) during the production of tofu, natto, and nimame (boiled soybean) from a contaminated Japanese soybean cultivar harvested in FY2011. Tofu, natto, and nimame were made from soybean grains containing radioactive cesium (240 to 340 Bq/kg [dry weight]), and the radioactive cesium in the processed soybean foods and in by-product fractions such as okara, broth, and waste water was measured with a germanium semiconductor detector. The processing factor is the ratio of radioactive cesium concentration of a product before and after processing. For tofu, natto, nimame, and for the by-product okara, processing factors were 0.12, 0.40, 0.20, and 0.18, respectively; this suggested that these three soybean foods and okara, used mainly as an animal feed, can be considered safe for human and animal consumption according to the standard limit for radioactive cesium of soybean grains. Furthermore, the ratio of radioactive cesium concentrations in the cotyledon, hypocotyl, and seed coat portions of the soybean grain was found to be approximately 1:1:0.4.
authors.affiliation: National Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2-1-12 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8642, Japan.
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hachinohe
authors.forename: Keitarou
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: Katsuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanji
authors.forename: Shioka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamamatsu
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hagiwara
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nei
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kameya
authors.forename: Rikio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Ushio
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Matsukura
authors.forename: Setsuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Todoriki
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005507:Food Contamination, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D045730:Soy Foods / Q000032:analysis*; D013025:Glycine max / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes