I’m sure most of us would remember the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that took Japan by shock and triggered powerful tsunami waves that reached a height of 40.5m on 11 March 2011.
And it didn’t just stop there. Due to the impact of the earthquake and the tsunami, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered meltdowns, releasing radioactive material into the air, soil, and sea.
As a result, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), also known as the predecessor of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), called for a ban on the import of certain food products from 11 prefectures in Japan.
It has already been nine years and the ban was finally lifted in January 2020 by the SFA, deeming products from those prefectures safe for consumption.
Can’t believe it has been nine years, isn’t it?
Strict Monitoring Of Food Imports
Following the lifting of the ban, all food products from areas within the Fukushima prefecture and from the city of Fukushima will be allowed to be imported into Singapore. This would include mushrooms, berries, and seafood, which are staples of the diets of people in Fukushima.
Singapore has also previously imposed import controls on produce from Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, but later lifted them after finding that the products passed their food safety assessments.
Despite this, the SFA said that they still conduct strict monitoring on all imports from Japan just in case, but they have not detected any radioactive contaminant in the past five years.
So you guys don’t have to worry too much about it not being safe for consumption.
In case that still doesn’t make you feel safe, all food products need to have a test certificate for radioactive contaminants to show that they pass the safety standards, as well as a certificate of origin so that the food products’ prefecture of origin is known.
Only A Small Part Of Food Imports Are From Japan
Did you know that less than 2% of the seafood we import from other countries is actually from Japan? And less than 0.5% of other food products we import from overseas are from Japan.
This was revealed in a 2011 Singapore government statement based on the data in 2010, before the earthquake and tsunami happened.
It was also found that in 2018, less than 1% of Singapore’s total imports were food imports from Japan, and less than 0.1% of the total food imports in 2018 was from the Fukushima prefecture.
Seeing as to how Japan only makes up a very small portion of food imports in Singapore, I guess we probably won’t have that big of a change in our diets just because the ban has been lifted.
Are Fukushima Food Products Available In Local Supermarkets?
Unfortunately, there is no official report as to how many products in local supermarkets are actually food from Fukushima.
According to The Straits Times, FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Cold Storage, and Giant were reluctant to reveal any information about Fukushima products.
One FairPrice representative did say that they do bring in some candy products during their festive promotions at certain stores, but didn’t give much details after that.
So does that mean that we will never know?
Well, as a consumer, you can always clarify with the staff in these supermarkets because you have a right to know, and they are obligated to tell you the truth.
Go on and take a look at the supermarkets and let us know if you spot any products from Fukushima!
