PUBLISHED : 27 Aug 2023 at 04:00
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is maintaining a wait and see stance after Japan’s release of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on Aug 24, according to FDA deputy secretary-general Lertchai Lertvut.
Mr Lertchai said the FDA discussed inspections of imports from the region with the Department of Fisheries, the Office of Atoms for Peace and the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (Tint) due to the risk of seafood becoming contaminated by the wastewater.
He said that officials from the fisheries department and the FDA will examine all food that arrives for traces of radioactive materials above Thailand’s safety threshold. The agencies will return any consignments that fail to pass these safety checks and suspend further imports.
“The FDA and the fisheries department have regularly collected samples of seafood sent from the area around the nuclear plant since the tsunami in 2011. The tests have never exposed food or other products that contain radioactive materials in quantities that exceed Thai safety regulations,” said Mr Lertchai.
According to Japan’s Public Health Ministry, 4,375 seafood samples from Fukushima collected during the past year do not show radioactive materials that are above the safety level, he added.
Also, the release of treated water from the Japanese nuclear plant had been approved by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency because the levels of radioactivity do not pose a threat to human health.
Mr Lertchai said the FDA and various agencies will double the amount of seafood samples collected for radioactive material search, to boost consumer confidence in their safety.
He added the first batch of Japanese seafood after the wastewater release will arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport in mid-September and will be inspected by both FDA and fisheries officials.