Japan: green tea exports banned due to high radiation levels

A swathe of Japan's tea making regions including parts of Tochigi, Chiba and Kanagawa prefecture as well as the whole of Ibaraki were included within the ban, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Green tea plantations were first highlighted as suffering from potential radiation contamination last month following the results of sample tests in Kanagawa prefecture.

The authorities discovered around 570 becquerels of caesium per kilogram in leaves grown in the city of Minamiashigara – compared to the legal limit of 500 – and started a recall of tea products.

Tea leaves are the latest agricultural products in Japan to be affected by problems surrounding the still-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

From milk to spinach, a raft of items have fallen under the spotlight due to radiation fears although Japanese authorities have assured the public and its export nations that it is strictly regulating products.

Tens of thousands of farmers have been hit hard by the nuclear crisis, due to issues surrounding potential soil contamination and food safety fears with many also having had to abandon their animals in the evacuation area.

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Japan restricts green tea over radiation fears

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TOKYO (AFP) – Japan banned the shipment of green tea leaves grown in four prefectures around Tokyo on Thursday after radioactive caesium above legal levels was found in samples, a media report said.

It was the latest produce shipment ban since the massive March 11 seabed quake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima nuclear plant northeast of Tokyo, which has since leaked radiation into the ground, air and sea.

The ban covers tea leaves from parts of the Tochigi, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures and all of Ibaraki prefecture, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said, Kyodo News agency reported.

Kanagawa, southwest of Tokyo, said in early May it had detected radiation above the legal limit in tea grown there and blamed it on the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, which suffered partial meltdowns.

Kanagawa prefecture then started a recall of the tea after measuring about 570 becquerels of caesium per kilogramme in leaves grown in the city of Minamiashigara. The legal limit is 500 Bq/kg.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant is located some 220 kilometres (135 miles) northeast of Tokyo and 280 kilometres from Minamiashigara.

The central government has previously imposed a ban on a range of vegetables and dairy produce from parts of Fukushima prefecture and several neighbouring regions, and banned fishing in the vicinity of the plant.

Copyright c 2011 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.

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Japan may face green tea shortage due to radiation leakes from Fukushima plant

The government decided on Thursday to curb shipments of dried tea leaves containing more than 500 becquerel per kg of radioactive cesium.var AddOthers = document.getElementById("yahoobuzzsyn").innerHTML;var msgparent = '8721471'; var _obj=document.getElementById("reportAbuseDiv"); var y = findPosY(_obj); window.onscroll=setabuseForm;var facebooklink=document.location.href;function callPublish(msg, attachment) {FB.ui( { method: 'stream.publish', message: msg, attachment: { media: [{ type: "image", href: facebooklink, src: fb_Img }], name: facebookktitle, caption: 'economictimes.indiatimes.com', description: facebooksyn, href: facebooklink }, user_message_prompt: "What's on your mind?" }, function(response) { if (response && response.post_id) { } else { } } );}var share = { method: 'stream.share', u: 'http://economictimes.indiatimes.com' }; FB.ui(share, function(response) { console.log(response); });function blockError(){return true;} window.onerror = blockError; var timeslog_channel_url = 'economictimes.indiatimes.com';var ttrendlogmsid='8721471'; var usersessionkey=""; FB.init({appId: '47255beefd20a79f1f2e244087a0dcc7', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true}); function getSessionFB(){ FB.getLoginStatus(function(response) { if (response.session) { session = response.session; sessionkey=session.session_key; usersessionkey=sessionkey; } else { } }); } setTimeout("getSessionFB()",2000); function openSignin(paramChk){try {var fbtwtUrl="";if(paramChk=="1"){fbtwtUrl="http://socialappsintegrator.indiatimes.com/socialsite/OAuth?channel=et";}else {fbtwtUrl="http://socialappsintegrator.indiatimes.com/socialsite/PostComment?action=sign-in";}sigintwtfb = window.open (fbtwtUrl,"sigintwtfb","location=1,status=1,scrollbars=0,width=700,height=500");sigintwtfb.moveTo(275,275);}catch(ex){}}

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Japan: Radioactive tea throws ministries into confusion

Local farmers have been thrown into confusion after the health and farm ministries expressed differing views over shipments of tea harvested in Kanagawa Prefecture after fresh leaves were found to have exceeded government limits for radioactive cesium.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has been trying to restrict shipments of tea leaves from the prefecture about 300 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant due to health concerns. The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, however, has claimed that despite the high levels of radioactive material, drinking tea made from the leaves would be safe because the radioactive material would be diluted.

One tea farmer in the prefecture grumbled, "I have no idea what's going to happen. I want them to clear things up."

The radiation safety limit for tea leaves is 500 becquerels per kilogram, the same as for vegetables, while the limit for tea drinks is 200 becquerels per kilogram, the same as for drinking water.

There have been no reports of drinks exceeding the 200-becquerel limit made from radiation-contaminated tea leaves. But fresh tea leaves harvested May 9-12 in six municipalities in the prefecture were found to have been contaminated with more than 500 becquerels of radioactive material.

Radiation levels for dried tea leaves that have been minimally processed (ara cha) are said to be five times higher than in just-harvested leaves. Dried tea leaves originally harvested in Minami-Ashigara, Kanagawa Prefecture, were found to contain 3,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium.

Shipments of tea leaves from the prefecture are currently under voluntarily suspension. But making the suspension legally binding is up to the government's nuclear crisis headquarters led by Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The health ministry has asked 14 prefectures, including Shizuoka and others in the southern Tohoku and Kanto-Koshinetsu regions, to inspect farm produce, as radioactive material has spread over a wide area. On Monday, the ministry ordered additional tests on dried tea leaves.

"Even though [radioactive materials] are diluted when the tea is consumed, would consumers feel safe with tea leaves containing several thousand becquerels of radiation on the market? We need to restrict shipments of tea leaves," an official of the health ministry's Inspection and Safety Division said.

But an official of the farm ministry's Agricultural Production and Marketing Promotion Division said: "Tea leaves are basically raw materials. It's not reasonable to impose restrictions when they're at the leaf stage."

According to the division, radioactive materials are diluted to from one-30th to one-45th when tea is made from minimally processed leaves. Radiation is reduced by one-sixth to one-ninth in tea made from fresh leaves.

Therefore, if tea is made from fresh tea leaves containing 1,000 becquerels of radiation, the radiation levels would drop to around 100 becquerels, a level below the government's safety limits.

"The 500-becquerel limit is too strict. Even though tea leaves aren't supposed to be eaten raw, they're subject to the same limit as vegetables," the farm ministry official said. "We don't have rules on what stage of processing should be restricted. So restricting shipments under these circumstances would only create confusion."

According to international standards, the annual acceptable dose of cesium from food is five millisieverts. If a person were to consume one liter of tea containing 200 becquerels of cesium every day for a year, he or she would consume about one millisievert of radiation.

Tea farmers have been frustrated with the government's indecisiveness on the matter.

Hisao Nakamura, a 74-year-old tea farmer from Minami-Ashigara, said: "We've thrown away all the ichibancha top-quality tea leaves picked so far. That cost us more than 1 million yen."

"The harvest of second-tier nibancha tea is scheduled to start next month, but we need to start preparing now," Nakamura said. "We want them to quickly decide on safety limits for radiation and whether we'll be compensated if we're not allowed to ship our leaves."

-The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network

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