Health scare
July 18, 2011
Four months after the March 11 quake and tsunami trigged a nuclear disaster, Japan's second-biggest retailer, Aeon Co., says it sold beef from cattle which had consumed nuclear-contaminated feed, triggering a scare over radiation-tainted beef.
As radiation continues to spill from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Aeon Co. says the contaminated beef has been sold at stores in and around Tokyo. A company spokesperson says the rice straw cattle feed exceeded the government's limits for radioactive cesium.
Meat from 132 contaminated animals is known to have been distributed across the country, according to Japanese media.
Beef ban
The government is expected on Tuesday to ban all shipments of beef, which is popular on Japanese menus, from the Fukushima prefecture.
Senior vice health minister Kohei Otsuka suggested that the beef ban may also be extended to areas outside Fukushima, depending on the results of investigations into the extent of contamination.
"At this point, we are considering Fukushima prefecture," Kohei Otsuka says. "But we may consider whether further action is needed after studying how contaminated straw was distributed."
Cases of contaminated vegetables, tea, milk, seafood and water have also caused great concern. Officials have maintained that the levels are not dangerous.
Author: Shivani Mathur (afp, Reuters)
Editor: Sarah Berning