Domodedovo customs seized 31 kg of dried porcini mushrooms from a 32-year-old foreign passenger flying to Uzbekistan after radiation levels in the baggage exceeded the background norm more than tenfold. Source: FCS Russia.
The fixed “Yantar” detection system triggered in the baggage handling area on the ground floor.
Inspectors opened a box with factory-packaged product labeled as Russian dried white mushrooms; a portable spectrometer confirmed elevated activity and caesium-137.
Data were promptly sent to Rospotrebnadzor, which classified the food as radioactive waste requiring disposal.
The manufacturer received an order to withdraw the EAEU conformity declaration for “Dried white mushroom”, halt production and sales under it, and implement harm-prevention measures.
Caesium-137 is an artificial isotope with a half-life of about 30 years, formed in nuclear fission and associated with contamination risks if consumed over time.
