Brazil Nuts Contain a Small Amount of Radium

Bananas are not the only food with a trace of natural radioactivity. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency names bananas and Brazil nuts as the most well known examples of foods that contain it. Like bananas, Brazil nuts contain potassium, a small fraction of which is radioactive. Brazil nuts go one step further. According to the EPA, they also contain a small amount of radium that is taken up from the soil in which they are grown. This is how such elements usually get into food: the roots of plants take in radionuclides from the soil. None of this is a reason to change what you eat. The EPA states that because the amount of radiation is very small, these foods do not pose a radiation risk.