Testimonial: Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester - Nitrates in vegetables. Nitratometer or how to protect your family?
Advantages:
convenient menu
Disadvantages:
expensive and as it turned out useless device
Nitrates, nitrates, nitrates everywhere! Overwhelmed by an unexpected panic, I decided to protect my family, and it seemed to me that I found the right solution - to buy a nitrate meter. But not an ordinary nitrate meter, but a thing that, as it seemed to me, will always come in handy - the SOEKS ecotester. He is a nitrate tester and a dosimeter in one device.
The price of course bites, after all 7800r. But I was sure of the need for the device, especially since I had been thinking about this purchase for a long time. I was afraid of nitrates going off scale in vegetables and fruits. I wanted to be forearmed, so to speak.
Found a good store, bought an ecotester. Production Russia. 1 year warranty. He promised to do an analysis of the content of nitrates and an assessment of the radiation field. And all this with lightness and compactness, in numerical and graphic form. Work continuously for 10 hours with just 2 AA batteries, and show all information on a color LCD display.
We received such a box with a seal. Inside was the device itself, 2 AAA batteries (in the photo they are already in the device) and a convenient instruction.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
The batteries are inserted from the back of the instrument. At the end there is a mini-USB input for recharging batteries (if any) from a computer using a USB-mini-USB cable. When connected to a computer, the device can work without power, but unfortunately there were no cables in the box, and they are not included in the kit.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
Of course, like a stray, I ran faster to measure everything, test, etc. And despite the fact that the device, as it seemed to me, is wound. His menu was easy to navigate. But unfortunately, this was the only plus in this device.
I'll start in order. From the menu. The menu is simple, only 3 items. Radioactivity, Nitrate Tester and Menu. We switch using the "right-left" and "down-up" buttons.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
We open Radioactivity.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
The background radiation was normal. Well, thank God. At the top, next to the battery indicator, is a diagram. It shows the last minute radiation activity. It moves continuously to the right and the higher the bar, the higher the background radiation. But for me a simple inscription on the whole screen was enough - "radiation background is normal". For some reason I did not expect anything else, although out of reassurance, I walked around the apartment and measured everything in every corner, including goods from Japan. No excess anywhere (TTT), well, good.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
Further detailed designations in the "Radioactivity" mode.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
Next is the Nitrate Tester. The irreplaceable device that will show what you can eat and what you can't. But unfortunately, even in the device itself, everything was not as good as it seemed.
To begin with, this device has an error of up to 30% in the readings, and this is no longer accuracy. And as the manufacturer explains, nitrate analysis is done by measuring the conductivity of high frequency alternating current. The background radiation analysis is carried out on the basis of X-ray radiation, taking into account gamma radiation and the flow of beta particles. That is, speaking not in scientific terms, the device works on the basis of phenomena that, by increasing or decreasing their activity, speak of the presence of nitrates or radiation elements. And finally, the list of products for analysis is much smaller than the manufacturer promises, namely.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
This is the list of products that an ecotester should analyze. In fact, in the ecotester itself, the list turned out to be much smaller. It did not contain Apricot, Banana, Eggplant, Grape, Pepper, Peach and Persimmon. Everything else from the list was, but you must admit this is extremely small.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
First I took up Apples. We had 4 apples in our house. Two to eat and two to experiment. It's just that a few months before New Years, we bought 2 processed Golden apples, but we never ate them. When, a month after the purchase, their appearance has not changed at all, we decided to remove them on the window and wait until at least one speck appears on them. But since not a single speck had appeared in 3 months, and the ecotester had already been purchased, we decided to check these apples for the content of nitrates. Fortunately, we also had 2 more Semerenko apples, fresh, so there was something to compare with.
I chose the Apple item. Prepared the device for use. For this, the bottom cover is removed and the probe is inserted into the product.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
I washed two apples, processed and not, made a cut and properly stuck the probe into the processed one, hoping to see inflated results. I didn’t get satisfaction. The MPC norm is 60. The device showed 34. I was surprised. She took out the probe, as it should be, wiped it with an alcohol swab, everything as it should, and then wiped it dry with a clean napkin. Then she stuck Semerenko into the apple. The result surprised me even more. Also 34. Then the first suspicions crept in.
Then I went to the tomatoes. I chose greenhouses. The norm is 300. I did this with 4 tomatoes. The result is 112,134,130 and 127.
Patience was running out. I took fresh meat. Just bought that day. Result? At a rate of 200, only 34. At times less than I expected.
I took two greenhouse cucumbers. At a rate of 400, they showed 120 and 134.
There was no limit to my surprise. I was expecting nitrates everywhere, but it turned out that the norm is everywhere, and who in general sets these norms? I was offended that we gave away 7800, but bought some useless poke. But there is more.
It's time for potatoes. And then the fun began. For more details. Choose potatoes from the menu. Press RIGHT.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
Make sure that the nitrate tester is not inserted into the tested product. OK.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
The appliance is being prepared.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
We stick the probe into the potatoes. OK.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
We measure.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
The result is a significant excess of the norm.
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
This is where the dog is buried. Or rather potatoes. Then my "potato crisis" began. I checked every potato. But first she cleaned a few kilograms. Soaps. And then she checked again. Check each one, clean the probe, check again. If I saw even a slight excess, then I threw out the potatoes with valor, thinking that I was protecting my family. Thus, out of 10 kg of potatoes, 8 were thrown out. Moreover, different types of potatoes were bought, both white and red and small. Lot? And this is in 2 days. I didn’t like it, it’s what happened that potatoes are now taboo? In general, it is easier not to take it than to throw it away, but how much time has been killed for measurement, for cleaning.
I don’t know what came over me. But, I decided to experiment. I stuck the probe several times into one potato. Results in the photo. First, I (as expected) stick the probe into the potatoes. The nitratometer writes "Significant excess of the norm" (photo above).
Then I stick it into the same potato, literally 1 centimeter from the previous plug, the result is "Dangerous concentration of nitrates."
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
Further, I stick the probe 1 cm from the plug, again "Significant excess of nitrates".
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
And finally I stick the probe into the same potato, but now from the other side. As a result, "Nitrate content is normal."
Nitratometer-dosimeter of radiation SOEKS Ecotester photo
I grabbed my head. How many of these potatoes I threw away, and how many ate. Until that moment, I had only inserted the probe once.And if he showed the norm, I put aside the potatoes for cooking, if it was exceeding the norm. I threw it out. But how many of these potatoes, where on the one hand "Norm", and on the other hand "Dangerous concentration" did we eat? After all, I did not check the second side, and I did not check the middle. And then it dawned on me about the same 30% error. And then I realized that in order to eat a product without nitrates, or with a small content of them, you need to literally riddle the food product from all sides, and there is also the item "Children's norm". This is how much money is needed to throw out so many products every time. You have to go to the village yourself, plant and grow it yourself, and then I will be nitrate-free, and that's not a fact.
And then I went to read in detail about nitrates, I learned that although nitrates tend to accumulate in the body, they are also removed from it quite easily. And in order to accumulate in the body a decent dose of nitrates, it is necessary to constantly consume unprocessed fruits and vegetables containing a large amount of them.
Nitrates enter the body not only with vegetables and fruits, but also with water and meat, and then are absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine. Nitrates are excreted in the urine. The very same content of nitrates in the human body is quite natural, and is found even in those people whose diet is completely devoid of nitrates.
Nitrate poisoning can occur only after critical doses of nitrates have entered the body. And it manifests itself in most cases with diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. Safe for an adult is the norm of 200-300 mg of nitrates per day. So, in order to exceed the dose even with this potato, you need to eat about 2 kg of potatoes with an exceeding dose of nitrates, in an unprocessed form, and this is perhaps difficult to do.
And according to some researchers, the nitrate problem is generally far-fetched. That is to say, diverting the attention of consumers from a much more significant danger - the use of pesticides, chemical food additives (including nitrites) and other environmental problems. After all, the doses of nitrates that cause poisoning are much higher than the officially established limits (such cases were recorded with the simultaneous intake of nitrates in the form of mineral fertilizers in doses from 1 to 4 g).
And if you think so, then really. What does nitrates have to do with it? But what about lead and mercury, heavy metals and other chemical additives that the ecotester will not show? It turns out that it is possible to continue using such an ecotester, wiping the probe with pink glasses and sticking it into a new product, sincerely believing that it was collected by "virgins at dawn". But this does not save from others, for example, from such processed apples that I tested at the very beginning of the review. But the amount of nitrates in it was normal (we threw out these apples anyway, you can't fool your feelings).
And, as it turned out, there are more convenient and inexpensive ways to combat nitrates. For example, soaking in water, cooking, boiling, and in general heat treatment. The same potato, when boiled, loses up to 80% of nitrates. Carrots and cabbage - up to 70%, beets - up to 40%. In this case, the most intense transition of nitrates into the broth occurs in the first 30 minutes of processing.
And also, you can reduce the risk from the consumption of nitrates with simple vitamin C. For example, drinking orange juice, or tea with lemon, or ascorbic acid as an extreme option.
As a result of this story, we returned the ecotester to the store. It is not a panacea, but just another hassle and additional waste of money and time.
