Authors

The anthropogenic impact on food safety of wild-grown berries of the Vaccinium genus

DOI: 10.17586/1606‑4313‑2026‑25‑3-40-46
UDC 631.4

The anthropogenic impact on food safety of wild-grown berries of the Vaccinium genus

Dinkelaker Nikita Fridrich J., Rumyantseva O.N, Dinkelaker N.V. , Sharova Uliana A.

For citation: Dinkelaker N. F. J., Rumyanzeva O. N., Dinkelaker N. V., Sharova U. A. The anthropogenic impact on food safety of wild-grown berries of the Vaccinium genus. Journal of International Academy of Refrigeration. 2026. No 3. p. 40-46. DOI: 10.17586/1606‑4313‑2026‑25‑3-40-46

Abstract
The study is aimed at identifying the possibility of toxicological risks associated with heavy metals when using the wild blueberries and lingonberries in areas of logging activities. For this, the methodology of the basin approach was applied - berries from the watersheds of European taiga rivers were studied. The tasks of the study included assessing the disturbance of 23 catchment basins of the North-West of Russia with continuous forest cuts, sampling blueberries and lingonberries in each of them, and their analysis for the heavy metals’ accumulation. The quantitative content of Sr, Pb, As, Zn, Co, Ni, V, Fe, Mn and Ti was studied in berry material and soil by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. It has been established that under the influence of continuous logging, there is a redistribution of heavy metals in soils within the river catchment basins, with the greatest concentration in the humus layer of medium sub-basins. This leads to the higher accumulation of heavy metals and arsenic in the berry production of blueberry and lingonberry. On the territories of catchment basins disturbed by logging, the accumulation in berries of arsenic, manganese, and chromium increase in comparison to intact territories. The results obtained can be used in planning the picking of wild blueberries and lingonberries to minimize the risks of product pollution with heavy metals and expand the possibilities of their use for industrial processing

Keywords: heavy metals, accumulation, X-ray fluorescence analysis, berries, blueberries, lingonberries, logging, water catchment basin.

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