List of food import bans expands for radiation-hit Japan

China, South Korea and Taiwan on Friday joined other governments in suspending food and agricultural imports from Japanese prefectures affected by radiation from an earthquake- and tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant, according to dpa. China's temporary ban applies to dairy products, fruit, vegetables, other agricultural products and aquatic products fromFukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba prefectures, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.
South Korea's ban took effect immediately and would remain until
there no longer are concerns about radioactive contamination, the
prime minister's office said.Its ban applies to milk, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and turnips from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi und Gunma prefectures.Taiwan's import suspension applies to all food, including dairy products, fruits and vegetables, from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba, Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta said.
The three governments joined the United States, Singapore,
Australia and Hong Kong in suspending imports from Japan.
Japan first announced at the weekend that radiation had
contaminated milk and vegetables near the nuclear plant in Fukushima,
250 kilometres north-east of Tokyo. It has since halted exports of
these products.
In China, the government had ordered quarantine inspectors at
ports to monitor radiation levels in all shipments from Japan from
March 16, and South Korea also began last week to monitor fresh
produce for Japan for heightened radioactivity.
So far, Taiwan has only detected radiation on fava beans imported
from Japan, but the contamination was within Taiwan limits.
Seoul said its list of banned products could become longer if
higher radiation levels are detected in other Japanese produce.
The nuclear plant in Fukushima, 250 kilometres north-east of
Tokyo, has released radioactive materials and has been hit by
explosions and fires since the quake and tsunami, which caused the
cooling systems its six reactors to fail.
In a separate notice on Friday, China's quality watchdog said two
Japanese air passengers were found with radiation levels 'seriously
exceeding limits' as they arrived in the south-eastern city of Wuxi
Wednesday.
It also said a cargo ship from Japan showed 'abnormal' radiation
levels in the south-eastern port of Xiamen Tuesday.
The notice did not specify the levels of radiation found, but it
said the two air passengers were not considered a risk to other
people.