July 27, 2011

Japan to burn all radiation-contaminated beef

The government of Japan has planned to destroy all beef that has been contaminated by nuclear radiation from the damaged Daiichi nuclear power plant on a move to address the rising concerns of consumers.

Almost 3,000 cattle whose meat is feared to be contaminated with radioactive caesium have been shipped throughout Japan after being fed straw exposed to radiation during the more than four-month-old nuclear crisis.

An official at the ministry's meat and poultry division, who asked not to be named, said that the government's new plan to destroy the meat was an attempt to "eradicate consumer worries and restore their confidence in beef." Under the plan, meat industry groups are to purchase from member wholesalers and retailers all beef found to be contaminated with caesium above government-set limits.

Industry groups would need to borrow money from banks for the scheme, and the government-funded Agriculture and Livestock Industries Corp. would help them pay interest to the banks, the ministry official said. The industry groups would need to repay the money, but they are "expected to demand that Tokyo Electric Power, which caused the nuclear accident, compensate them for the purchasing and other costs."

Agriculture minister Michihiko Kano said the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), would ultimately have to pick up the bill, which media reports said may come to JPY2 billion or US$25 million.

The beef scare surfaced earlier this month when elevated levels of caesium were found in meat from cattle shipped from a farm in Minamisoma, a city just outside the no-go zone around the damaged Daiichi nuclear plant.

In the widening scandal, it has since emerged that many more farmers in Fukushima and other prefectures have shipped cattle to meat-processing factories without realising their beef could have been contaminated.

Though Tokyo has repeatedly stressed that standard servings of the radioactive meat pose no immediate health risk, the government banned shipments of beef from Fukushima last week. Similar bans have recently been imposed on some vegetables, milk and seafood from Fukushima and areas beyond, as well as on green tea grown south of Tokyo.