Image via WikipediaMore than a dozen regional governments in Japan will conduct tests to
determine whether locally grown rice contains too much radioactive cesium, farm
ministry officials said on Monday, as food safety worries spill into the
country's traditional staple.
Public fears over radiation in food have grown after the world's worst
nuclear crisis in 25 years at Fukushima plant in northeast Japan, and excessive
levels of radiation have been found in beef, vegetables, tea, milk, seafood and
water.
The government on Monday ordered Iwate prefecture in northern Japan to halt
shipments of beef cattle after radiation exceeding safety standards was found in
some Iwate beef, expanding the target of shipment ban from Fukushima and
Miyagi.
For rice, at least 14 prefectural governments in north and east Japan, which
account for more than 40 percent of the country's total rice output, will test
their rice before their harvest season to determine whether levels of cesium
exceeds the safety standards, a farm ministry official said.
If the level of cesium in rice exceeds the government-imposed cap of 500
becquerels per kilogram, shipments from locally produced rice will be halted,
the official added.
"Continuous consumption of rice containing cesium above the
government-imposed limit of 500 becquerels per kg over a year will result in
internal radiation exposure above 5 millisieverts, one of the more conservative
standards for radiation exposure set by the International Commission on
Radiological Protection," said the Japanese health ministry.
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