FOOD COMING FROM JAPAN BEING INSPECTED FOR RADIATION
MANILA, MARCH 15, 2011 (STAR) By Aurea Calica - The Philippines will begin to inspect food imports from Japan to check their radiation levels but downplayed any direct and immediate threat to the country following explosions in nuclear plants in Fukushima.
This developed as Singapore said yesterday that it was testing food products from Japan for radiation.
The government also appealed to "alarmists" to stop spreading through text messages that acid rain would fall because of radiation coming from a leak in a devastated Fukushima nuclear plant that might hit local winds.
Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said President Aquino met with the heads of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Health, Department of Budget and Management, National Security Council, Presidential Management Staff and the Office of the Executive Secretary to make sure that the Philippines would be safe from any possible effects of the nuclear crisis in Japan.
"Just as a precaution, imports from Japan, mostly foodstuffs, will be checked for levels of radiation," Carandang told reporters after the meeting in Malacañang.
The PNRI will be in charge of the tests because the Department of Agriculture checks agricultural products while the DOH is in charge of processed food.
"I'm not sure how quickly they can get it done but at the soonest possible time," Carandang said.
But Carandang said there was no plan to screen any travelers from Japan at this time.
Carandang said the President and all the other government officials received information that there was no nuclear meltdown that occurred.
"The information that we have was that there was no meltdown, that the worst of it has been contained. So according to (DOST) Secretary (Mario) Montejo, there is no immediate threat to the country right now from the explosion that happened at the nuclear plant. I think the nature of the explosion has been covered already by international media— the explosions occurred not in the reactor but outside of the reactor. It was hydrogen explosion that apparently did not affect the reactor so that's very good news for everyone," Carandang said.
"I think we were all relieved. But of course, there's so much that needs to be considered at this point. The preparations still have to be reviewed," Carandang said.
Japanese officials confirmed three nuclear reactors north of Tokyo were at risk of overheating, raising fears of an uncontrolled radiation leak.
Engineers worked desperately to cool the fuel rods in the damaged reactors. If they fail, the containers that house the core could melt, or even explode, releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere.
But Carandang said the Japanese government managed to prevent a meltdown "which would have been the worst case scenario."
Carandang said there was no need to panic and denied that the text messages were coming from credible news organizations like BBC.
"There's no truth to that, in fact, based on the briefing to us (yesterday) morning, as you know, there are some concerns that some radioactive material was released. They released some radioactive material to prevent a larger problem from occurring. We are following the wind patterns over the weekend and the wind patterns seem to be moving toward the east—towards the Pacific Ocean—not south, towards us. So there's no truth to those text messages," Carandang said.
Precautionary measure
In Singapore, the country's food regulator said that as a precautionary measure, it will monitor Japanese produce based on source and potential risk of contamination.
"Samples will be taken for testing for radiation. Fresh produce will have priority. AVA (Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore) will continue to closely monitor the situation and its developments," it said in a statement.
The AVA said the bulk of Japanese imports arrive by sea, but high-end Japanese restaurants in Singapore routinely use air freight to fly in produce such as raw fish -- integral to sushi and sashimi -- to ensure its freshness and quality.
The city-state has a large concentration of restaurants serving Japanese cuisine, which is very popular among Singaporeans.
Government figures showed the city-state's imports from Japan totaling $26.2 billion last year.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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