Fukushima Begins Testing Rice for Radiation

Bags of rice are being checked by the Fukushima Prefectural Government in Japan for radiation.

Governor Yuhei Sato, who visited an inspection center in Nihonmatsu on the first day of the inspections, said that he ‘wants safe Fukushima rice to be delivered across the country’.

According to the Japan Times, the checks were considered necessary to allay fears caused by the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power station.

On the first day of the inspection, 1430 bags of early harvest rice were inspected.

The equipment took only about 10 seconds to check each bag, with all of the bags showing radioactivity levels below 11 becquerels per kilogram, the lowest measurable limit, the report said.

“I don’t think that consumers will feel safe immediately, but we have to demonstrate scientifically proven safety and security,” rice farmer Takayuki Anzai said.

According to the report, the size of this year’s rice harvest in Fukushima Prefecture is expected to be around 360,000 tons, or some 12 million bags, the prefectural government said.

Most of the checks will be finished by the end of the year.

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