With more countries detecting radioactive contamination in food imported from Japan, efforts to prevent it spreading through the global food chain have gained a new urgency.
On Friday, Taiwan and South Korea joined the list of countries that have banned the import of food produced in the provinces worst-hit by the crisis at the Fukushima nucl
ear plant.
Taiwan was among the first to detect mild levels of radiation in a shipment of fava beans, but decided to ban imports only after radiation was also found in a batch of imported Japanese clams, tested Thursday.
In South Korea, the prime minister's office said the import of food products from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures in Japan have been banned with immediate effect. The ban mainly involves products such as spinach, parsley, broccoli and milk.
The country's Food and Drug Administration will continue testing produce coming from Japan and will keep the public informed of its findings, the office said.
Separately, Singapore said it found radioactive contamination in four samples of vegetables imported from Japan and has extended the ban to food from two more Japanese prefectures.
Singapore's Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority said radioactive contamination was found in Mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley), Nanohana (rapeseed plant), Mizuna (Japanese mustard) and perilla leaf samples.
The New Zealand Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture is also testing some Japanese food items for signs of nuclear contamination.
South Korea on Monday expanded checks to include dried and processed foods imported from Japan. On Friday, Korea said it would ban imports of produce from radiation-affected areas with immediate effect. Thailand has expanded the scope of its tests and asked traders to avoid importing fruits and vegetables from Japan's Honshu island.
Other countries that have imposed restrictions on food imports from Japan include Australia and the United States...
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Source: newsroom - meattradenewsdaily.co.uk
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