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EU tightens radiation limits on Japan food imports

08 April 2011, 23:04 CET
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(BRUSSELS) - The European Union tightened on Friday the acceptable level of radiation in Japanese food imports as Japan battles to contain a nuclear emergency.

The 27-nation EU agreed to reduce the maximum acceptable levels of three radioactive elements -- iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium-137 -- in food and feed from Japan after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The new levels "are now consistent" with those enforced by Japanese authorities in the wake of the nuclear accident, the European Commission said in a statement.

"The Commission underlines the precautionary nature of the reinforced measures and notes that all the checks carried out up to now by member states of Japanese food imports demonstrate negligible levels of radio-activity, which are significantly below existing standards," the statement said.

The measures, approved by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, applies to imports from 12 prefectures (Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Miyagi, Yamagata, Niigata, Nagano, Yamanashi, Saitama, Tokyo and Chiba).

All products from the 12 prefectures must be tested before leaving Japan and are subject to more testing in the EU, the commission said.

But it added that Japanese authorities say "nearly no exports" are leaving from the 12 prefectures.

Feed and food from Japan's 35 other prefectures must be accompanied by a declaration indicating their origin and are randomly tested in Europe.

Japan is a minor food trading partner of the European Union. Imports of Japanese agricultural products stood at 187 million euros last year, while fish imports reached 29 million euros.


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