If you all aware, in 2011, Japan had the worst nuclear disaster where the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered meltdowns and lead to the leaking radioactive material into the air, soil and sea. Not just that, where after this incident, it was devastated by a tsunami and earthquake combo.
Due to this event, The predecessor of SFA, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) had place a ban on the import of some food products from 11 prefectures in Japan.
Good news now is that the ban on the import of all food items from the prefecture was lifted in January 2020 by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), marking an end to the ban put in place since 2011 after 9 years!
With this uplift of the ban, this will allow all food products from areas within the Fukushima prefecture and from the city of Fukushima to be imported back into Singapore. Agricultural exports, such as mushrooms, berries, and seafood, are the lifeblood of Fukushima and for the past last decade, Singapore had also imposed a series of import controls on produce from Tokyo, Kanagawa and Shizuoka. SFA said the import restrictions were lifted in line with its food safety assessments.
Even with the uplift, Singapore is still monitoring closely on the food import. In the past five years, SFA has not detected any radioactive contaminant in food imports from Japan thus this uplift is made.
So what’s your verdict? Will you buy food products from Fukushima even with certifications that they are safe?