After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, the EU introduced additional controls for certain foods from Japan. Now the latest restrictions are coming down. China, on the other hand, is adhering to the import ban.
More than a dozen years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, all food from Japan can again be exported to the EU without additional controls. Thanks to the diligent work of the Japanese authorities and close cooperation in recent years, restrictions on importing food from Fukushima can be lifted, said EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
The EU Commission backed this up with positive product test results. Restrictions were introduced in 2011 and gradually relaxed as the risk declined.
A tsunami as a result of an earthquake triggered multiple meltdowns of the core of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. For this reason, some foodstuffs could only be sold in the EU if it was proven that they did not exceed the maximum levels of radioactive cesium isotopes. After the last review in September 2021, only wild mushrooms, certain types of fish and wild edible plants were subject to special controls, according to the EU Commission statement.
Dispute over discharge of cooling water into the sea
However, the official stressed that it is important that the Japanese government continues to monitor the country’s production of radioactivity. This applies “in particular to fish, fishery products and algae in the vicinity of the point of release of contaminated cooling water”. The background is that the Fukushima reactors must continue to be cooled with water, which is stored in tanks. Recently, a dispute has arisen over the fact that Japan wants to throw the treated water into the sea. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed.
China, on the other hand, announced last week that it would maintain an existing ban on food imports from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima. They wanted to prevent “radioactively contaminated Japanese food” from reaching China, it said in a statement. The move was justified by safety concerns about Japanese plans for cooling water.