The Kan Administration lifted the shipping restriction placed on spinach harvested in some cities in Ibaraki Prefecture Apr 17. Spinach from the prefecture was detected with radioactive substances exceeding the limit. The restriction remains in effect for spinach in two cities, Kita Ibaraki and Takahagi, in Ibaraki Prefecture. The bans on “kakina” and parsley were also removed for all regions in the prefecture.
The shipping ban was first made Mar 21 for spinach and parsley, and Mar 23 for kakina. The three past tests done on these items in all cities within the prefecture, with the exception of Kita Ibaraki and Takahagi, showed readings below the limit.
The items currently under shipping bans are leaf vegetables in Fukushima Prefecture, raw milk and fresh shiitake mushrooms (grown outdoors) from some municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture, and spinach from all areas in Tochigi Prefecture and 3 cities and towns in Chiba Prefecture.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, monitoring inspections conducted in Fukushima Prefecture detected 880 becquerels of radioactive cesium in fresh shiitake mushroom grown outdoors, which is 1.8 times higher than the provisional limit. No ban has been imposed on this item, but the cesium was detected before it was shipped and distributed into the market.
Source: Asahi Shinbun, Apr 17, 19:57
Translated by I. Salim
Edited by English native speaker
Link to original article: http://www.asahi.com/special/10005/TKY201104170190.html
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