Tokyo Food Safety Information Center » Tokyo Metropolitan Government food safety FAQ »What measures have been taken at food production sites to reduce radioactive substances in food?
What measures have been taken at food production sites to reduce radioactive substances in food?
What measures have been taken at food production sites to reduce radioactive substances in food?
- What kind of measures are taken to reduce radioactive substances in agricultural produce?
- Is feed managed safely so that livestock such as cows do not take in radioactive substances?
At food production sites, farmland is decontaminated in order to reduce the transfer of radioactive substances from the soil to agricultural products and the volume of radioactive substances in fertilizer and livestock feed is managed.
For agricultural produce, measures are taken to reduce radioactive substances in farmland such as scraping off the surface soil to remove agricultural substances or turning over the surface layer and lower layer of soil to distance radioactive substances from crops. In addition, an upper limit has been established for radioactive cesium in fertilizer to ensure that the concentration of radioactive in farmland does not exceed the pre-accident concentration even with long-term use, and use of fertilizer that exceeds the upper limited is subject to voluntary restraint.
For fruit trees such as peaches, measures have been implemented to reduce the adherence of radioactive cesium, including washing of branches and trunks with high pressure water and scraping off rough bark from the branches and trunks. Tea is harvested after pruning of the old stems and tea leaves in order to prevent the transfer of radioactive cesium from old tea leaves to new tea leaves.
For rice, planting restrictions are combined with measures to reduce absorption of radioactive cesium and post-harvest inspections. Rice planting is restricted in areas where rice with high concentrations of radioactive cesium was harvested in the previous fiscal year. Rice with high concentrations of radioactive cesium is sometimes harvested in rice paddies with insufficient potassium as a nutrient, so measures such as using a potassium fertilizer such as potassium chloride are implemented when cultivating the rice.
In addition to these measures, pre-shipment inspections on all bags of rice and random inspection for every hectare of planted area are conducted in areas where rice with high concentrations of radioactive cesium was harvested in the previous fiscal year.
For mushrooms, upper limits have been set for radioactive substances in mushroom logs and other materials because radioactive substances are absorbed from the mushroom beds such as logs and sawdust required for the cultivation of mushrooms.
In addition, upper limits have been set for radioactive substances contained in feed such as grass and rice straw for livestock products, and feed that exceeds the limits is not given to livestock.
These upper limits are determined by collecting and analyzing data on transfers from mushroom logs, feed and other production materials to food.
For fruit trees such as peaches, measures have been implemented to reduce the adherence of radioactive cesium, including washing of branches and trunks with high pressure water and scraping off rough bark from the branches and trunks. Tea is harvested after pruning of the old stems and tea leaves in order to prevent the transfer of radioactive cesium from old tea leaves to new tea leaves.
For rice, planting restrictions are combined with measures to reduce absorption of radioactive cesium and post-harvest inspections. Rice planting is restricted in areas where rice with high concentrations of radioactive cesium was harvested in the previous fiscal year. Rice with high concentrations of radioactive cesium is sometimes harvested in rice paddies with insufficient potassium as a nutrient, so measures such as using a potassium fertilizer such as potassium chloride are implemented when cultivating the rice.
In addition to these measures, pre-shipment inspections on all bags of rice and random inspection for every hectare of planted area are conducted in areas where rice with high concentrations of radioactive cesium was harvested in the previous fiscal year.
For mushrooms, upper limits have been set for radioactive substances in mushroom logs and other materials because radioactive substances are absorbed from the mushroom beds such as logs and sawdust required for the cultivation of mushrooms.
In addition, upper limits have been set for radioactive substances contained in feed such as grass and rice straw for livestock products, and feed that exceeds the limits is not given to livestock.
These upper limits are determined by collecting and analyzing data on transfers from mushroom logs, feed and other production materials to food.