Asian markets screen Japanese food exports for radiation
South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines are countries stepping up their efforts to increase the screening of products, reported Reuters.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore said food products from Japan exported before 11 Mar 2011 are safe for consumption as they would not have been exposed to any radioactive contamination. These include products that are currently in the market and
those which had arrived in Singapore over the last few days.
“As a precautionary measure, samples of fresh produce exported from Japan after 11 Mar 2011, such as seafood, fruits, vegetables and meat, are being tested for radioactive contaminants with immediate effect,” said the AVA.
“AVA will work closely with our counterparts in Japan and continue to keep a close watch on food imports from Japan,” the authority said.
South Korea's Food and Drug Administration said it would test fresh agriculture and forest products for radiation, although it added it was not a big buyer of such products from Japan, Reuters reported.
Officials there said the testing of seafood was also being considered. In 2010, South Korea imported 84,000 tonnes of fish from Japan.
"As far as radiation is concerned, I think the most at-risk articles are ... fresh products, perhaps dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables," Hong Kong's Food and Health Secretary York Chow said.
"We are monitoring the situation and also checking at importation venues to ascertain that they have not been affected."
Thailand's public health ministry said it had no plans at present for extra monitoring of imports from Japan, according to Reuters.
