For the first time since the 2011 disaster, all of the rice
harvested in Fukushima Prefecture this year has passed radiation tests and now
can be deemed safe for consumption, according to local officials, the RT.comwebsite reports.
Virtually all of the rice harvested in Fukushima in 2014 –
or some 360,000 tonnes – has been checked for radiation and met the national
standards of less than 100 Becquerel’s per kilogram.
"The fact
that the amount of rice that does not pass our checks has steadily reduced in
the last three years indicates that we're taking the right steps," said Fukushima official Tsuneaki
Oonam, who heads the department that oversees Fukushima rice farming.
Authorities began testing all rice grown in Fukushima
prefecture in 2012, although the amounts harvested over the past years were
insignificant. More 190 testing devices are used throughout the prefecture to
ensure rice’s safety standards.
For the last two years, some 10 million bags of rice were
checked annually. In 2012, 71 bags were found to exceed the safety standards,
while in 2013, 28 bags were over the standard, the Asahi Shimbun reports. Rice
farmers, according to the newspaper, succeeded in changing the fertilizer used
so that radioactive caesium is not absorbed by the rice plant.
Rice that passes the Food Sanitation Law standards, is
labeled as such. Those bags with radiation readings are destroyed. Despite the
promise of getting a clean over-all reading, Fukushima prefecture plans to
continue the radiation testing program.
Japan exported its first rice following the disaster last
August – a 300-kilogram batch was delivered to Singapore. Fruit exports to
Malaysia also resumed last year, according to officials, while in 2012
Fukushima peaches and apples were exported to Thailand.
Read more HERE.
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