Akhir 19, 1432 H/March 24, 2011, SPA -- Singapore on Thursday extended its ban on food imports from Japan after authorities found low levels of radiation in vegetables tainted by leaks from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, dpa reported. Earlier Thursday, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority stopped the import of milk and milk products, fruit and vegetables, seafood and meat from four Japan prefectures near the plant over worries of radiation, saying it was a precautionary measure. But in a statement issued late Thursday the food watchdog said it detected radioactive contaminants in four samples of Japanese vegetables "imported from the affected prefectures of Tochigi and Ibaraki, as well as Chiba and Ehime which are outside the affected areas." Therefore, the authority said it would include Chiba and Ehime in its ban on the import of all fruits and vegetables from Japan. It said although the samples of the imported vegetables were found to have elevated levels of radiation, however, there was no cause for alarm for consumers. "An adult would need to consume 3.5 kg of these vegetables to receive a similar level of radiation exposure from one X-ray," said the watchdog. Singapore started testing fresh produce from Japan shortly after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the ongoing nuclear threat in Japan.
