Radioactive fish in Japan-part 2

The seafood nightmare just got worse. Radioactive cesium 137 has been found at harmful levels in fish in Japan. This element has a half-life of 30 years, so this contamination won't dissapate quickly like short-lived radioactive iodine.

This is probably coming from the highly radioactive water spilling from the damaged reactors.

According to PanOrient News:

Fisheries minister Michihiko Kano said later in the day that the government intends to toughen inspections of marine products in Ibaraki and increase the number of inspections off Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, in light of the continuing leaks of radioactive materials into the Pacific Ocean from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Private companies are taking matters into their own hands. I just happended to notice this press release from Royal Greenland:

During the current events in Japan, there have been some concerns about the safety of food stuffs from this area. We are monitoring the situation in Japan closely, including the hazard of contamination of our raw materials that come from or transit in this area.

The raw material currently used in our factories have been caught, processed and shipped before the catastrophic events occurred. Fish caught, processed or shipped in this area of the world after the 11th of March 2011 will only be handled at our factories after satisfying results of relevant analyses. Current goods on stock are exclusively taken from 2010 catches. We will submit to international requirements for controlling and analyzing of the quality in general of our goods and raw material.

This means that all products from the Pacific or stocked goods from Japan will be thoroughly analyzed before sales and we are in constant dialogue with the relevant authorities regarding the situation.

How long will it be before Royal Greenland will open the doors again for seafood from the region? I wonder what other seafood companies are doing.

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