April 11, 2011
Canada tests for radiation in milk from British Columbia
In addition to food products from Japan, Canada's sampling and testing regime for radiation from Japan's nuclear disaster also consists of domestically-produced milk from British Columbia.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) highlighted on Wednesday (Apr 6) that it has not discovered related radionuclides, atoms or atomic particles emitting radiation at or above Health Canada's action levels in any of the products it has tested yet.
The expansion of testing to include British Columbia milk was described strictly as a prudent measure taken out of an abundance of caution to reaffirm the safety of this dietary staple for the majority of Canadians.
According to the CFIA, negligible levels of radioactivity have been detected along North America's West Coast. "Radiation levels found on the West Coast are now less than the natural levels of radiation that would be detected when it rains or snows," CFIA said.
Four samples of domestically-produced milk from British Columbia had been tested by Wednesday (Apr 6) to verify that milk remains safe for consumption, CFIA said. All were below Health Canada action levels for pertinent radionuclides.
"Additional products may be assessed in the future as the situation evolves and circumstances warrant," CFIA said.
Even before the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, Japanese food products made up less than 0.3% of Canada's total food imports, and imports from Japan are now at very low levels.
The CFIA said that it has tested nine samples from Japanese food and feed imports and found all products below Health Canada's action levels for radionuclides.
If any products are found with levels above Health Canada's action levels for radionuclides, they would be disposed of following protocols from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the agency said.
Since April 1, CFIA has blocked entry of any food or feed from Japan without acceptable documentation or test results verifying its safety, if the food or feed comes from any of 12 prefectures affected by the ongoing nuclear crisis. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) now refers all shipments of food and feed from Japan to CFIA's National Import Service Centre.
Japan is still battling to control nuclear reactors in the country's northeast that were damaged by the quake and tsunami. Workers have recently been able to stop radioactive water leaking into the ocean from the damaged reactors, but experts have said the reactors are still far from being under control.
A UN official said that the reactor accident is not expected to have any serious impact on people's health, based on the information available now.
CFIA noted on Wednesday (Apr 6) that the federal government already collects information on normal background levels of radionuclides in food as part of Health Canada's total diet study.
The total diet study is a survey used to estimate Canadians' exposure to various contaminants through the food supply. The data collected provides a baseline of the normal levels of such materials in food.
