Tokyo, March 24: Several countries have placed restrictions on the imports of Japanese food following the detection of radioactive contaminants in some of the products.
Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Canada and Russia are among countries that have banned the import of some Japanese food products.
Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said on Thursday that it has found radioactive material in four samples of vegetables imported from Japan’s Chiba and Ehime areas.
“Radioactive contaminants have been detected in four samples of vegetables from Japan,” it said in a statement.
Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council announced on Thursday that iodine-131 has been detected in a shipment of burrowing clam known as a geoduck, but the amount was within the legal limit.
Australia’s food safety agency said on Thursday that “as a precautionary measure, and consistent with approaches internationally,” imports of Japanese seaweed, seafood, milk products and fresh produce originating from Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures have been halted.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also placed an import alert on all milk, milk products, fresh vegetables and fruits from certain regions in Japan.
Korea is considering a halt in the import of Japanese food as well.
“If serious radioactive contamination of Japanese products is found in the future, we will review a plan to tentatively put on hold the imports of Japanese food,” said the Korea Food and Drug Administration in a statement on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered a halt in shipment of a range of farm products, as radiation was detected in vegetables from Fukushima prefecture.
The vegetables include broccoli, spinach, cabbage and cauliflower produced in Fukushima prefecture, where engineers are struggling to contain a tsunami-ravaged nuclear plant.
——Agencies