Foresight

Japan's health ministry stated Wednesday that consuming 100 grams of the most contaminated vegetable for 10 days is the equivalent of ingesting half the amount of radiation a person would typically be exposed to in the natural environment in one year.

But being that the ministry detected 82,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium in "kukitachina" leaves, which is 164 times the limit under the food sanitation law and 15,000 becquerels of radioactive iodine, which is more than seven times above the limit, it's no wonder that the international community is taking no risks when it comes to importing Japanese food.

Particularly in light of the fact that the radiation leak is spreading beyond the vicinity of the Daiichi power plant in Fukushima Prefecture and has sparked panic buying of bottled water in Tokyo as trace elements of radioactive iodine have been found in the metropolis's water supply, as well as milk and in sea water samples taken from the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned imports of dairy products and vegetables from the vicinity of the Daiichi nuclear power plant, citing "radionuclide contamination" and the move covers all milk, milk products, fresh vegetables and fruit from Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.

Supply chains out of Japan have been severely disrupted following the devastation caused on March 11, but a host of countries like the U.S. are taking preemptive measures to ensure the safety of their citizens, particularly the young and the pregnant, seemingly regardless of Japan's claims of "overreaction. "

"Authorities in six other prefectures have been instructed to ramp up their efforts to monitor farm produce," Tadakoro said.

"Miyagi, Yamagata, Niigata, Nagano, Saitama and Chiba prefecture's have all been instructed to monitor radiation on food grown in the area more closely, so the fact that a number of countries may be extremely anxious about the situation is normal, as prevention is always the best cure," he said.

While Malaysia is testing all imported produce from Japan, the Philippines conducting random inspections and Singapore conducting comprehensive tests on all incoming food from Japan, other countries are considering wholesale restrictions.

South Korea, according to local media reports, is "actively" considering banning food imports from Fukushima and three nearby prefectures due to concerns about possible radiation contamination, following being one of the first countries to test imported agricultural produce, dried and processed food from Japan for radiation.

The Korea Food & Drug Administration said it would not ban Japanese food at this stage, but along with China and a slew of other countries, is opting for immediate and future preventative measures, rather than dawdling, speculating and then taking retroactive measures.