The health ministry has stepped up its snap inspections of food products sold at supermarkets and elsewhere for possible contamination by radioactive substances that may have slipped through checkups by local governments.
The health ministry has stepped up its snap inspections of food products sold at supermarkets and elsewhere for possible contamination by radioactive substances that may have slipped through checkups by local governments.
Rieko Matsuda, director of the Division of Foods of the National Institute of Health Sciences, and another female employee of the NIHS, are part of this process.
On Sept. 6, they changed from their white lab uniforms into plain clothes to focus on fish at a supermarket in Tokyo. They were checking out places of origin, not the prices, of the products that included young yellowtail from Iwate Prefecture, cut and dried Alfonsino from Miyagi Prefecture, and blue mackerel from Shizuoka Prefecture.
"Have we screened fish from this region?" they kept asking each other, relying on their memory.
At the beef section, they had planned to buy products from the Tohoku and Kanto regions, but they gave up on that idea because the labels were not specific, saying only "produce of Japan."
At the fruit and vegetable sections, they added a melon from Aomori Prefecture and "shiitake" mushrooms from Akita Prefecture to their shopping baskets. They bought 22 items.
Supermarkets are not their only hunting ground. They go to antenna shops to buy local specialties and sometimes purchase produce online.
Local governments are in charge of screening food products for radioactive contamination. However, the frequency and the selection of target items may differ depending on the inspecting bodies.
Generally, such inspections are infrequent and conducted only on samples extracted before they are circulated. There is a high chance of contaminated food products slipping through if the selection of target items is patchy.
The health ministry has requested the NIHS to check out food items produced within the jurisdiction of local governments that have modest inspection records. The ministry has appropriated about 15 million yen ($190,000) for that purpose. For the time being, 200 items will be screened every month.
The inspections have already produced results. On Sept. 2 and 5, radioactive cesium exceeding the government's safety standard was detected in refined tea leaves from Chiba and Saitama prefectures.
When excess radioactivity is found in a food product, all goods produced or manufactured in the same locality and during the same period are subject to a recall. A shipment ban may be imposed if contamination is discovered in more than one locality.
"The central government involvement in the screening of food products in circulation will prompt local governments to step up their own inspection efforts," said a health ministry official. "I think it also helps to enhance consumer confidence."