Food Imports From Japan To Be Checked For Contamination

[webfact]

RADIATION

Food imports to be checked for contamination

By PONGPHON SARNSAMAK

THE NATION

The Food and Drug Administra-tion will impose strict controls on all foods and consumer products imported from Japan.

All FDA checkpoints across the country have been instructed to test consumer products imported from Japan, including vegetables, fruits, grains, meat products, seaweed, seafood products, and dairy products, FDA secretary-general Dr Pipat Yingseri said yesterday.

The FDA will also call on importers to provide information of the situation in the disaster-hit country, and offer guidelines on testing foodstuffs for radioactive contamination. The FDA will meet the importers at 1.30pm today. The agency will also ask the Office of Atoms for Peace to conduct random tests on imported food products.

"Even though there is no clear information about radiation in Japan, we still have to take precautions," he said.

Rujaporn Channachai, of Siriraj Hospital's radiology department, said people should absorb no more than 1 millisievert of radiation per year, though medical workers often have up to 20mSv in their bloodstream.

He said the human body can naturally eliminate radioactive substances and some foods have previously been reported to carry small portions of radioactive contamination.

-- The Nation 2011-03-16

[webfact]

Ministry of Public Health on high alert screen food imports from Japan

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's ministries of Public Health and Natural Resources and Environment will closely monitor and inspect food imported from Japan and Thailand's air quality to check radiation levels but downplayed any direct and immediate threat to the country following explosions in Japanese nuclear power plants in Fukushima.

The crisis at the Fukushima No 1 plant has now spread to four of its six reactors following Friday's quake and tsunami which knocked out the plant's cooling systems. The Japanese government said that radiation levels near a quake-hit nuclear plant are now harmful to human health after two explosions and a fire at the crippled facility today.

Permanent Secretary for Public Health Paijit Varachit urged the Thai public not to be alarmed, as the ministry has prepared pre-cautionary measures to assure that Thais will remain safe from any possible effects of the nuclear crisis in Japan and to remain confident regarding the Japanese government, considered one of the countries with effective safety measures to protect the health of its public.

He said that there is a possibility that radiation from Japan could be carried to Thailand by radiation-exposed food products and the atmosphere.

Dr Paijit said specialised equipment could be used to detect whether food was contaminated with radiation or not. He believed that radiation from the nuclear power plant would not reach Thailand because of the great distance between the two countries. Nevertheless, the minister is closely following the situation in Japan.

Meanwhile, Chanchai Uerchaikul, Director of the Import and Export Inspection Bureau of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said the agency's Secretary General Pipat Yingsaree has ordered it to coordinate with Thailand's Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) to send samples of food imported from Japan to for the office to inspect.

In a related development, Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said that a team of three medical doctors from Rajavithi Hospital arrived in Japan to provide medical help for Thais who were affected by the destructive earthquake and tsunami there.

They were scheduled to move to Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, which was heavily hit by the quake and tsunami, he said, a city with some 300 Thais.

The minister said the ministry arranged 21 additional medical teams for assignment by rotation in Japan.

He assured the public that the measures to examine the food imported from Japan are introduced to protect Thai consumers. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-03-16

[Bobr]

Even with the radiation threat, I trust the Japanese to prepare my food far more than any Thai. Their fanatical (n a good way) propensity for quality would probably never allow them to sell contaminated food.

On the other hand, considering that a bout of food poisoning is a monthly occurrence here, maybe Thailand should look at their own food vendors. Chiang Mai would be a good place to start.

Edited March 16, 2011 by Bobr

[dumball]

Ah-so , it has been determined by experts that radio-active contaminants will not reach Thailand because of the great distance between the two countries ,let me think about this for 5 seconds .

A smelting process in northern Ontario in Canada was killing off local forestation with the pollutants expelled from the tower , very simple cure , raise the height of the emitting tower , problem solved , in Ontario that was . Some months later it became of some concern when vegetation was dying off in Sweden , the pollution from the raised tower in Canada had been carried by air currents to Sweden .

Please let me think for another few seconds---------------ah yes there is not enough wind power in Thailand to economically run wind turbines (Another thread) , so thai do not have a need to be concerned about the spread of pollutants by air currents , very , very sage ??????????????

[tigermonkey]

Yesterday, there was an identical annoucemnt from the government in Singapore. Everyone chuckled because they were being so "Singapore" in their over - reaction.

Today, we have the identical ( copy cat ? ) annoucement from the Thai government. It's all a big effort to look good. There must be an election coming.

[bangon04]

""Even though there is no clear information about radiation in Japan, we still have to take precautions," he said.

That's OK then. Just for a moment it was sounding like a lame excuse for xenophobia and protectionism.

Actually it is part of Thailand's contribution to the international relief effort. If Thailand buys less food from Japan, there will be more available for the Japanese who really need it.

Lucky that Toyotas are assembled in Thailand........

Edited March 16, 2011 by bangon04

[Soutpeel]

Ah-so , it has been determined by experts that radio-active contaminants will not reach Thailand because of the great distance between the two countries

Is the same person who said the sea levels in the gulf of Thailand would not rise because melting ice sheets are too far from Thailand ???

[coma]

That would indeed be useful.

[bkk_mike]

Ah-so , it has been determined by experts that radio-active contaminants will not reach Thailand because of the great distance between the two countries

Is the same person who said the sea levels in the gulf of Thailand would not rise because melting ice sheets are too far from Thailand ???

I doubt it... Surely he'd be the one who said...

He said the human body can naturally eliminate radioactive substances and some foods have previously been reported to carry small portions of radioactive contamination.

There's a reason they give Potassium Iodide to people if they're exposed to radiation. It's because the radioactive isotope of iodine will be absorbed into the body, unless the body is already fully topped up with it's iodine levels...

[MaiChai]

Thats rich since Thai food has been banned from entering the EU.

Maybe they can check car/motorbike/truck parts for radioactivity too?

And what food is imported from Japan? I though countries like Thailand were just cheap factories for Japanese companies? At least the Indians and Chinese can make their own brand of cars/pickups/trucks?

Edited March 16, 2011 by MaiChai

[BusyBee123]

'Thats rich since Thai food has been banned from entering the EU.'

really! hmm wonder why i have thai prawns from thailand bought from tesco tonight!

anyway from one bullshit statement to another, i can't imagine there are to many radiation detecting equipment at the ports and airlines of thailand never mind anyone capable of understanding how they work.