Data comprise a compilation of quality-controlled biological half-life values (and associated information) from a literature review for animals (mainly farm livestock) which contribute to the human food chain. The dataset contains almost 650 entries for 12 animal types (cattle, sheep, goats, deer, geese, hens, horses, pigs, rabbits, camels, ducks and red grouse) of importance to the human food chain for 32 elements relevant to radiological protection. Entries include values for milk, muscle (meat), eggs, whole body, carcass and various tissues (e.g. liver and kidney); the number of entries available for each element/food-chain product combination is highly variable. The dataset also contains values for other sample types (e.g. urine, faeces etc.) that are not associated with the human food but are presented as the data appeared in the same source reference as those values for human food chain products and they may be useful for modelling purposes. All the source references consulted during the review are provided. The study was conducted as part of the CONFIDENCE project which is part of the CONCERT EJP, which receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 662287. Full details about this nonGeographicDataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/d26ea56a-a692-427c-8f5a-a9bb6eb7da6b