Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

EU to maintain safety checks on food from Japan

National Sep. 10, 2011 - 04:30PM JST ( 33 )

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33 Comments

5

horrifiedSep. 10, 2011 - 04:50PM JST

So the products are tested in Japan before leaving the country, and yet I can't get the school lunch ingredients tested that they feed to my daughter. Priorities are very clear.
0

some14someSep. 10, 2011 - 04:51PM JST

Radiation/contamination may penetrate through checks and certificates... EU should impose complete ban on Japanese food imports.
1

Rolf SchlumpfSep. 10, 2011 - 05:14PM JST

As every year I went to Japan this summer to visit my family. Usually I bring home (Switzerland) some special food to give it to my co-workers here. This year I didn't bring anything, as I guessed not even no one asked my about why there is no present this year. In japanese restaurants here they declare on posters, that the food they serve is not made of japanese ingredients. Unfortunately, this will be a long and hard way for Japan to get rid off this image...
1

Christina O'NeillSep. 10, 2011 - 06:43PM JST

I am taking great care to read the country of origin on all products I buy for consumption Japanese imports are sadly not on my shopping list. I would normaly have purchased sushi rice, noodles soya sauce and Japanese bean curd. This Christmas I will be posting a hamper of European groceries to family resident in Japan, I wish the situation was different
0

zichiSep. 10, 2011 - 06:57PM JST

"I advise all of my friends and family to not eat ANYTHING from Japan."

There are many safe foods in Japan, I'm actually eating them all day, everyday? we are not buying foods from prefectures with a radiation contamination problem. The country still has some of the highest standards for food safety. The bad press is not justified.
1

It"S MESep. 10, 2011 - 06:57PM JST

Christina.

Checking is good.

But what you are doing is condemning everything.

Like saying because Miami had a disaster I can't buy products from Maine or Seattle or like because Nothern Scotland has a problem anything is from the UK is suspect.

Never mind much farm produce in england is still a no-no due to chernobyl, so should I avoid ALL british products that are sold globally.
1

zichiSep. 10, 2011 - 07:03PM JST

And don't forget not to buy any sea foods from the Gulf of Mexico because of the BP oil spill. There is soil in the UK still contaminated from Chernobyl as in other European countries too. Mad cow disease and farm animals fed cocktails of drugs which are one of the main reasons for new drug resistant diseases appearing. GMC's from the U.S. and other countries should be on the banned list.
3

Samantha Zoe AsoSep. 10, 2011 - 08:09PM JST

The situation with the Dai Ichi plant is still ongoing. It is a situation still in progress. We still are not fully aware how deeply the foodchain and water table has been or is going to be affected. Caution is best.
3

Samantha Zoe AsoSep. 10, 2011 - 08:18PM JST

@ It's Me. Dai Ichi is a situation that is unfolding. Chernobyl happened years ago. Yes, checks are still in place. Unlike here, where despite being reassured that certain foodstuff was safe, it was later confirmed to be not only the opposite but had been served in school lunches. Never mind labeling scandals or produce in areas well out of the 'danger zones' found to be over the safety limits. Unless people feel totally confident in the government's assurances that all is well and under control, Japan might just find itself out in the cold totally on the food export side.
1

Samantha Zoe AsoSep. 10, 2011 - 08:22PM JST

Apologies. I meant '@ It's Me and Zichi'! The fact us, for me anyhow! We can discuss countries all over the world until the cows come home sick! The point is, I live here in Japan. We could run the gauntlet historically but it doesn't change the fact that there is a serious situation regarding the foodchain in Japan.
1

zichiSep. 10, 2011 - 08:41PM JST

@Samantha Zoe Aso

I too live in Japan, in Kansai. Not all the people making comments live in Japan.

There are some serious problems with food production and animal breeding, but not all foods and not the entire country.

I understand about school lunches but I can't comment on that because I don't have children in Japan. No school children should be given any contaminated foods no matter how low the contamination.

we always try to buy locally grown food, which we do and mostly buy organic veg from the Hyogo mountains and organic meats too. I don't know what is being sold in Tokyo? I think food from Nagano is safe, I've not read anything about that.

I was recently reading about a food company in Tokyo which is checking all its product and does deliveries, can't remember the name?

Most of the food exported is not veg.
2

Christina O'NeillSep. 10, 2011 - 08:56PM JST

Itsme reply, if the people of Japan cannot trust the food distributers themselves, then how am i to discern what is truly safe and correctly labled. When Chernoble reactors went into meltdown we had some of the fallout contaminating most of Europe. Very few people at that time would purchase food products coming from Eastern Europe for a long time afterwards. Here in Ireland contaminated products were fed to pigs, the result was to admit the contamination and recall all products.You have to be able to trust the country of origin to be totaly honest in regards to the safety of the food they produce
1

It"S MESep. 10, 2011 - 09:03PM JST

Christina reply.

I trust no country/goverment that it is honest about the food, etc.

Been way to many food scandals, e-coli scares, etc over the decades worldwide and those are ONLY the ones we know about how much more go undetected or are covered up?

Glad that you trust your goverment and your local food 100%, I would never do that neither in Japan nor any country on this globe.
3

Samantha Zoe AsoSep. 10, 2011 - 09:06PM JST

@Zichi. Having young kids just puts a deeper perspective on it. Quite frankly, if I ingest a bit of radiated food here and there it probably....in my layman's opinion.... not make much of an impact. However, young kids whose bodies are still developing and have decades and, hopefully, decades ahead of them need the best start in life. I wouldn't take my kids into a restaurant and eat in the smoking section everyday. Neither would I feed them processed and sweet food everyday. I am ordering produce directly from farms in Kyushuu and Kobe as I trust that it comes from where it states it comes from.

I am not commenting about anyone on JT but it's okay for folks to band around comments on how sensitive certain people are about the food situation here but unless you have kids, and really young kids at that, how can anyone point a leery finger at parents who basically just want the best for their children. The powers that be haven't exactly been transparent or forthcoming about the situation. Spouting off about other countries does not interest me living in Japan with my three beautiful kids.
1

smithinjapanSep. 10, 2011 - 10:05PM JST

Good. Hopefully it ensures that the government makes more efforts to let the people know what's going on. We'll see.
2

Darren BrannanSep. 10, 2011 - 10:14PM JST

It isn't just the EU. I think NZ has the most stringent laws regarding anything from Japan.
2

zichiSep. 10, 2011 - 10:37PM JST

@Samantha Zoe Aso

I agree with you entirely and share and understand your concerns with your children. It's only natural that you would want to protect and certainly with the current situation with school lunches I'm happy I don't personally have to deal with it, and if I did, I would be far more angry than I might feel at the moment. Especially, because it's impossible to even provide them with their own lunch box. i would not point the finger at anyone having these concerns but to many others I would say we need to keep it in perspective.

It's the fault of the government, and TEPCO for being totally honest with the amount of radiation released and the continuing lies and cover up of what is happening at the power plant. I'm not attacking you, or anyone else.
1

zichiSep. 10, 2011 - 10:39PM JST

sorry in my previous comment I should say "dishonest " and not "honest"
2

warnerbroSep. 10, 2011 - 10:58PM JST

The Japanese inspection system checks only a small fraction of the food. The government lacks the ability and more importantly the will to check more. The EU has made a very intelligent move. It is true that there is quite a lot of food that maybe fine, may have less radiation than some food of post-Chernobyl Europe, but Japan's inspection system is so hit and miss that we have no way of knowing.
-1

valley-of-the-shadowsSep. 10, 2011 - 11:29PM JST

The country still has some of the highest standards for food safety.

@zichi please enlighten us about these high standards for food safety because they have certainly been thrown out the window during this disaster if there were any.
2

walterySep. 10, 2011 - 11:56PM JST

I feel safer and still prefer Japanese to Chinese food. I agree Japan has a long way to go before global perception changes.
2

Samantha Zoe AsoSep. 11, 2011 - 12:53AM JST

@Zichi. You strike me ...if I dare comment.....as coming from a good place. Open minded enough to empathize with the plight of others.
-1

rararaSep. 11, 2011 - 01:03AM JST

I feel safer and still prefer Japanese to Chinese food.

it's not just china, but most parts of the world including North America (although chinese food sounds most unappealing)

i wish i could trust foods imported from China, the US, Mexico, etc., and some domestic ones from Fukushima. If so, I would be able to live very, very cheaply, in this rather expensive part of japan.
2

zichiSep. 11, 2011 - 01:25AM JST

Any country only test a selection of imported foods. It could not open every tin, every packet, every sack. But some testing is better than no testing.
1

zichiSep. 11, 2011 - 01:50AM JST

The National Azabu food stores in Tokyo are testing their foods for radiation.
0

WeaselSep. 11, 2011 - 02:21AM JST

I see turnabout is fair play.
0

SerranoSep. 11, 2011 - 02:31AM JST

"apply to all feed and food from 12 prefectures"

That should cover it.

"National Azabu are testing their foods for radiation.

zichi - That's becuae there's a bunch of rich gaijins shopping there.
1

YongYangSep. 11, 2011 - 02:54AM JST

My children were taken off school meals after 3/11. They take lunch with them with all ingredients sourced from outside Japan, including drinks. Very, very possible to do and very, very doable to minimize exposure. All foods, from wherever they come, contain radioactive isotopes, thank atmospheric testing of thermo nuclear devices and nuclear accidents for that, BUT less is best.
-1

rararaSep. 11, 2011 - 03:07AM JST

with all ingredients sourced from outside Japan

then, it's very cheap lunch, isn't it? even a small Fukushima peach cost 150 yen or so.
2

Elbuda MexicanoSep. 11, 2011 - 07:19AM JST

Serrano, please do not use the G word! I feel so insulted, hated, left out, sticking out like you know the bolls on a dag as our Aussie amigos would say, (sarcasm) anyway, yes Natiional Azazub has most of the rich ex-pats and folk from the rich countries and their embassies shopping their in Hiroo for their turkeys etc...all being checked for that pesky radiation, the EU gets first class treatments, while our kids here in Japan, we do not even know where the heck the food they are eating is coming from?? This really PISSES ME OFF!! I want to go and kick some Tokyo Electric butt in side and out!
0

lordmanjiSep. 11, 2011 - 09:05AM JST

Actually Zichi, Japan is more like the west or east coast of the United States. Then you halve that again because only roughly half of Japan is usable. Now if you had nuclear meltdowns on the coast, and contaminated food from that area and areas where the wind and water deposited radiation, then on top of that the "coast" was known to mislabel food, then yes, the entire food imports is suspect and subject to testing. If given a choice between possibly contaminated with radiation food versus not, most people will not eat that nor encourage others to. Unless you're from that country/coast where the radiated food comes from.
1

CrickySep. 11, 2011 - 09:06AM JST

I trust the EU way more than local "Testing" I will follow their guidance, rather than poison my family for the good of Japanese farmers.
-1

AsagaoSep. 11, 2011 - 11:28AM JST

A complete ban is best because Japanese can't be trusted to tell the truth. Also, a complete ban might shake up these idiots that believe eating contaminated food is good for Fukushima. So no tests are done for Plutonium or Strontium? How about all the dioxins that have poisoned all the rivers around the disaster area?