RADIATION

FDA monitors food from Japan, Korea, China

By The Nation

Photos : EPA

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday began monitoring food from Japan and nearby countries such as South Korea, Taiwan and some parts of China for possible radioactive contamination.

"We have sent yellow tail tuna and big-eye salmon to the Office of Atoms for Peace for tests," Supaporn Amnuaykij, head of the drug-and-food checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi Airport's Cargo Terminal, said yesterday.

The results should come out within 24 hours, she said.

"Pending test results, importers must keep the remaining products from the same batch at their warehouse," she said.

Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut said the Agriculture Department had been assigned to conduct random inspections of agricultural produce coming from Japan to prevent consumers from contacting or ingesting radiation-contaminated food.

Supaporn said food products would be checked for the presence of heavy metals such as mercury and lead.

Japan sent mostly packed snacks and ingredients such as shrimp, scallops, salmon, oysters, big-eye salmon, blood cockles, strawberries and sweet potatoes.

"Most of these products are delivered to Japanese restaurants in the Sukhumvit and Thonglor area," she said.

Saranrak Nummak said her company usually brings in seafood from Japan every two days for Japanese restaurants in the Sukhumvit area.

"Our customers here have been running out of stock for five days already," she said.

Supaporn said the radiation-contamination tests were necessary in the wake of the radioactive leak from a nuclear power plant in Japan that has exploded many times since the massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan last Friday. The test was just brushed off, as it was last used after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which involved a nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, now Ukraine, she added.

Nuchaya Yazuda, the owner of a famous Japanese restaurant in Songkhla's Hat Yai district, said her place was still attracting hordes of customers as usual.

"No one has asked about radiation contamination so far," she said.

"By the way, we still have supplies of ingredients from Japan that came to us before the disasters struck there."

The restaurant did not rely on materials from Japan alone because she could find salmon, Japanese rice and other stuff from elsewhere, she said.

-- The Nation 2011-03-17

Perhaps they should put a few batches of Thai food in at the same time as experimental controls - they'd be surprised. Bet they don't test Thai sea food - it would probably lead to a cover-up - hear no evil, see.......