So far, test samples of seafood imported from Japan have indicated no presence of radioactivity exceeding international standards. This allows consumers to be confident in the safety of the food they eat, as stated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This statement has been issued amid growing global consumer concerns. There are fears that the discharge of wastewater from the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant, initiated last month, could contaminate marine life.
On Monday, FDA deputy secretary-general Lertchai Lertvut communicated that rigorous safety protocols were in place before Japan initiated the release of “processed radioactive water” from the facility into the Pacific Ocean on August 12, twelve years after the nuclear catastrophe.
He mentioned that the Office of Atoms for Peace of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation has collected 75 samples of imported seafood, including squid, molluscs, and crabs, to test for the presence of radioactive caesium-134 and caesium-137.
These tests are a critical component in assessing the safety of seafood products for consumption. He disclosed that 42 out of the 75 samples showed no radioactive remnants surpassing global norms and clarified that the remaining ones are currently under analysis.
Should any samples exhibit contamination with radioactivity over the international limits, the corresponding seafood will be discarded, and its importation will be halted, he articulated.
He affirmed that the FDA has instituted stringent and comprehensive precautions to ensure that all imported seafood undergoes thorough examination and is confirmed to be free of any radioactive contamination or impurity.
