TOKYO — Traces of radioactive cesium thought to be from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were detected in Japanese baby formula on Tuesday as concerns about
food safety continue almost nine months after the accident.
Meiji, the Tokyo company that makes the powdered formula, announced the recall of 400,000 cans of it as a precaution, but said the levels of cesium detected were well below the government’s safety limits. Tests found a combined 30.8 becquerels per kilogram of cesium 134 and cesium 137, the company said, compared with the government limit of 200, the company said. (A becquerel is a frequently used measurement of radiation.)
Babies could still “drink the formula every day without any effect on their health,” Meiji said in a statement.
Infants and young children are thought to be especially vulnerable to radiation exposure, which can increase risks of cancer and other illnesses.
According to local news reports, a citizen’s group in Fukushima first detected the radiation in Meiji’s baby formula and pressed the company for tests.
A Meiji spokesman said airborne cesium particles might have entered the formula at a factory in Saitama, north of Tokyo. He said the company had been diligent in checking radiation levels in the water, but had not taken enough care to filter for airborne radioactivity.
Eriko Matsuda, an official at the government-affiliated National Institute of Health Sciences, told the public broadcaster NHK that there was no need for panic because formula is diluted before being fed to babies.
Yasuko Kamiizumi contributed reporting.
日本での報道とさほど変わらないと思いますが、しっかりと書くべきことは書いています。
福島第一原発が、3月11日の地震の後に続いた津波でひどく破壊されて以来、放射能のある微粒子が野菜、牛肉、魚、そして主食である米にも侵入した。日本政府がほとんどの食品に対して放射能テストをしろと要求しないので、生産者や消費者が自発的に数値を報告している。
>According to local news reports, a citizen’s group in Fukushima first detected the radiation in Meiji’s baby formula and pressed the company for tests.
地方の報道によると、福島の市民団体が明治の粉ミルクの放射能を最初に検出し、明治にテストをするように要求したということだ。(これは日本の報道でも言っている)
こんなこと書かれて、恥さらしもいいところです!