U.S. Bans Japanese Food Due to Radiation

As damaged nuclear reactors in Japan continue to spiral out of control and concerns over contaminated food rise, the United States has now banned some food imports from Japan.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the edict on Wednesday, after Japanese officials found radiation in crops grown near the effected reactors. The FDA does not want contaminated food to enter the U.S. food supply.

Last week, Japan feared that radioactive materials released into the air, following the earthquake that damaged nuclear reactors, would contaminate local food crops. Japanese health experts warned that this radiation could increase the risk of certain cancers, such as leukemia, and bone and thyroid cancer.

So the FDA has stopped all imports of dairy products and fruits and vegetables coming from stricken areas of Japan. Also, Japanese seafood will undergo radiation screening before it can be sold.

But according to the FDA, food from Japan accounts for less than 4% of U.S. food imports. For example, sushi restaurants in New York do not import a lot of fresh produce from Japan.

While restaurants have not experienced shortages in supplies, because many ingredients are grown in the U.S., other products, such rice and nori wraps, may soon be imported from places like South Korea.

And Japan faces another challenge. Testing shows tap water in Tokyo contains levels of radioactive iodine double the safe-limit for infants. Radioactive particles are carried by moisture droplets in the air. Health officials announced it is not safe for parents in Tokyo to give their babies tap water.

So far, Japan has banned the sale of raw milk and spinach from states near the damaged reactors.

In 1986, the Chernobyl meltdown in the Ukrainian SSR (now the Ukraine) devastated and displaced large populations, and is linked to widespread and severe birth defects throughout the region.

Government agencies in Japan, however, continue to downplay the immediate dangers to human health, as do officials in the United States; people fear that radiation will reach the West Coast, which it has.

Image credit: Japan Trends

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