The central government issued on July 19 a ban on the shipment of all beef cattle from Fukushima Prefecture.
The central government issued on July 19 a ban on the shipment of all beef cattle from Fukushima Prefecture.
The move comes after radioactive cesium was found at levels exceeding government standards in the meat of cattle shipped from Fukushima Prefecture.
The government's headquarters dealing with the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant gave the instructions to Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato on the evening of July 19.
The panel was also to list conditions that would have to be met before the ban could be lifted. One measure being considered is to test beef from one animal per ranch before shipment for radiation contamination.
The ban's objective is to halt all shipment of cattle from Fukushima Prefecture to allow the government to establish an inspection system that would prevent contaminated beef from reaching the market.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano indicated earlier on July 19 that officials of the health ministry, agriculture ministry and Fukushima prefectural government were in final discussions to prepare the ban and the conditions that would have to be met before it could be lifted.
Testing beef from one cow would apply to all ranches that lie outside the regions designated by the central government as requiring evacuation preparation. Testing for radiation contamination would be conducted once every two months.
For cattle raised inside regions designated for various levels of evacuation, meat from every animal shipped will be checked for radiation contamination after slaughter.
According to Fukushima prefectural government officials, 281 ranches outside the evacuation regions raise a total of about 26,000 cattle for beef consumption. There are 230 ranches inside the evacuation regions, with a total of about 7,800 cattle.
One problem facing Fukushima prefectural government officials will be how to conduct the radiation testing because there is only one slaughterhouse in the prefecture.
The prefectural government will also visit all ranches to check on the handling of straw used for feed. Those checks will be conducted once every two months.
Any ranch that purchases new feed, including straw, will have to test the feed for radiation contamination. The prefectural government will also ask local agricultural cooperatives to establish a way to check the radiation contamination of feed purchased in bulk for local ranchers.
Once such measures to improve safety control are implemented and other conditions met, the central government plans to partially lift the shipment ban if the Fukushima prefectural government submits such a request.
Another potential problem facing the central government is the revelation that cattle shipped out of Yamagata and Niigata prefectures were also fed straw that was contaminated with radioactive cesium.
While 411 head of cattle shipped from Fukushima Prefecture were found to have been fed contaminated straw, 70 head from four ranches in Yamagata Prefecture and 24 head from one ranch in Niigata Prefecture were also given the contaminated straw.
This was the first time cattle outside of Fukushima Prefecture were found to have been fed contaminated straw.
While no beef from Yamagata and Niigata prefectures has yet been detected with levels of radioactive cesium exceeding government standards, the central government may be forced to take similar measures to those being implemented in Fukushima Prefecture.