FDA starts checking food from Japan for radiation

source: gmanews.tv

Amid the threat of radiation from a quake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has started checking food items imported from Japan for possible radioactive content.

The FDA and the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) expect to establish baseline values that will serve as a basis for inspecting food products to be imported from Japan in the near future, radio dzBB's Allan Gatus reported on Tuesday.

PNRI teams inspected items such as tea, seasoning, chocolate, noodles, rice, and rice biscuits and may come out with initial results within the week, the report said.

The FDA issued Advisory 2011-002, where it said the monitoring and sampling aim to ensure the safety of imported food products from Japan.

"FDA is now sampling locally available imported food products from Japan to measure baseline radioactivity level as this supply was procured before the current crisis," it said in a March 18 advisory signed by acting director Suzette Lazo and posted on the FDA website late Monday.

It cited the crisis stemming from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, where authorities found iodine-131 in samples of milk and vegetables, as well as tap water from areas near the plant.

For now, the FDA said it is coordinating with the PNRI, the agency tasked to monitor radiation levels in the environment and in food products.

The FDA stressed that for now, there is no risk of the Philippines being affected by the radioactive plume.

"The public is advised therefore not to be alarmed about possible radiation arising from the Fukushima incident," it said.

The FDA also said the public may call it at 8078275 for clarifications.

Container vans scanned

Philippine nuclear authorities on Monday started scanning container vans bringing items from Japan for possible radiation.

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute placed radiation portal monitors at the North and South Harbors to check the vans for radiation, radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported.

But PNRI head Alumanda dela Rosa maintained the scanning is a precautionary measure, as she maintained radiation from a quake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan is not likely to reach the Philippines even in a worst-case scenario.

Dela Rosa also said the PNRI is now drawing up a list of products imported from Japan that should be examined for radiation levels.

Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Commission said initial findings showed some samples of milk, vegetables and water near the crippled plant had traces of radiation.

For its part, the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo had to reassure Filipinos in two hard-hit areas that the rains do not threaten their health.

The embassy also relayed to Filipinos in Tohoku and Kanto an advisory from the Japanese government that there is "no risk to human health even if it rains."

source: gmanews.tv