September 9, 2011

An excess of the allowed limit of cesium was found on Japan beef shortly after the shipment ban in Iwate territory was lifted in August.

The contamination was the first incident in Japan according to local officials.

Authorities also said the amount of cesium found exceeded the government-set allowable limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram in two of eight beef cattle following shipment.

Cesium was first detected in the eight cattle in a simple test Tuesday (September 7),adding that two of the eight cattle were destroyed after further tests confirmed they had excessive levels of the element, the officials said.

The cattle shipment ban was imposed following the discovery of beef contaminated with radioactive cesium from cattle raised in northeastern Japan, in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.