Ito-Yokado Co., a nationwide supermarket chain, found that it sold beef containing radioactive cesium above the safety standard at two of its stores in Chiba Prefecture, the company said July 18.
Ito-Yokado Co., a nationwide supermarket chain, found that it sold beef containing radioactive cesium above the safety standard at two of its stores in Chiba Prefecture, the company said July 18.
The beef came from the same cow (from Fukushima Prefecture) that was found by the Tokyo metropolitan government on July 17 to contain 2,300 becquerels of cesium per kilogram, more than four times the safety standard.
Ito-Yokado said it will accept returned items of this particular beef and will reimburse customers.
A total of 41.7 kilograms of the beef was sold under the product name of Japanese black cattle beef for sirloin steaks between July 1-10 at the company's Narita store and Shokuhinkan-Otakanomori store in Nagareyama, according to an investigation by the company using beef identification numbers.
Ito-Yokado suspended sales of all beef from Fukushima Prefecture on July 16, while indicating production locations of domestic beef on packages or on the shelf.
So far, beef from 143 cows contaminated with radiation from the disabled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were found to have been distributed to 35 prefectures.