Levels of cesium in meals prepared by households in two northern prefectures worst hit by the nuclear disaster last year are within the government’s new permissible standard on exposure to radiation, it was announced March 27.
Levels of cesium in meals prepared by households in two northern prefectures worst hit by the nuclear disaster last year are within the government’s new permissible standard on exposure to radiation, it was announced March 27.
The standard is to take effect in April.
The Japanese Consumers’ Cooperative Union said the amount of cesium in meals prepared in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures came to 14 percent or less of the new standard of 1 milliservert per year.
The standard explains that the level of exposure to radiation must not exceed the limit, even if an individual eats the same food for one year.
The national organization of consumer cooperatives in Japan tested meals prepared for breakfast, lunch and dinner at 237 households in Tokyo and 17 prefectures for two days between November and March. Ninety-six of the households were in Fukushima Prefecture.
For the survey, each household prepared the same meals for each family member as well as an additional person. It was this dish that was checked.
The lowest limit for the detection of cesium was set at 1 becquerel per kilogram of food.
According to the survey, cesium was detected in meals prepared by 11 of the 237 households. Of those, 10 were in Fukushima Prefecture. The other one was in neighboring Miyagi Prefecture.
The highest amount of cesium detected in the survey stood at 11.70 becquerels per kilogram of food.
Levels of exposure to radiation from food prepared by the 11 households was estimated to range from 0.019 millisievert to 0.136 millisievert per year.
The range is 2 to 14 percent of the government’s new standards on exposure to radiation from food.
For the 11 households in question, there was no common factor in the origin of the food or the ingredients used.
“We will not make an assessment on whether the detected amounts are really safe. Our plan is to accept the (survey) results so we can consider countermeasures,” said Nobutake Uchibori, director of JCCU’s quality guarantee headquarters.
JCCU plans to carry out a similar survey in the new fiscal year that starts in April.