MathabaThe north Pacific Ocean is already contaminated by large amounts of toxins and pollution from dumping into the sea by China, a world leader in pollution, and formerly by the United States during decades of unrestricted development with minimal environmental safeguards.
However the largest nuclear disaster in history, Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plants melt-downs have added significantly to the nuclear contamination of the Pacific and affected not only fish and other food from Japan but also USA, China, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and parts of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Less than one year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011, by its own admission, the Australian Government’s Ministry of Agriculture all Caesium134 (134Cs), Caesium137 (137Cs) and Iodine131 (131I). Iodine131 (131I) testing ceased in early 2012 based on advice from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
Apparently in the interests of big business rather than the Australian public the government stopped all testing for nuclear contamination doing so on the advise of ARPANSA and FSANZ. Meanwhile the maximum safe levels for contamination were increased silently and without any media fanfare twenty fold in 2012.
FSANZ also reported that Australia’s Department of Agricultureceased all testing of food from Japan. Correct, the official website itself declares that the Department of Agriculture decided on 23 January 2014 to not only stop testing for nuclear contamination, but to stop testing of any kind on food imports from Japan.
Tuna and sardines even from Thailand, far from Japan, canned many years ago and still available for sale with an expiry date later this year have been tested by independent persons with suitable equipment and found to have high levels of radiation:
“With these sardines coming from Thailand and not from Japan, I would say the whole Asian region is feeling the effects of the Fukushima melt-downs, so it’s not just Japan that the food is being contaminated from but the whole Asian area. With Japan using (a million) gallons of water daily to cool the melt-downs this water is going right into the sea into the (Pacific) Ocean”.
Not only fish labelled as being from Thailand have had unacceptably high levels of radiation but also cherry tomatoes and asparagus, apples, pears and other fruit have been exported from radioactive Fukushima areas of Japan to Thailand. These are then labelled “Made in Thailand” and exported to Australia along with much of the other produce in Coles and Woolworths.
TEPCO the Japanese electricity company responsible for covering up decades of safety reports about Fukushima is continuing with its on-going coverup along with the EU and US media also covering up information about continuing Fukushima leaks, still taking place in March 2015.
The response in the USA has been little different: due to increasing levels of radiation being measured across the USA resulting from the Fukushima nuclear fall-out, in order to prevent mass panic and having to declare emergencies, within 2 months of the disaster the Environmental Protection Agency shut down its radiation monitors.
Australian citizens, as with their American counterparts, can since long no longer count on government agencies to cater for their interests let alone carry out any obviously required monitoring of food imports. It appears the elite interests, including Coles and Woolworths which dictate government policies have their own sources of supply and not that which is consumed by the general public. They are best served turning to independent testing services such as The Food Lab.
Even Australian food produce is at risk in many areas due to ground water poisoning and levels of Uranium 20 times the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. The same page lists numerous sources including the Japan Meteorological Research Institute’s report that Fukushima contaminated sea water has not remained in the North Pacific Ocean but is also to be found since 2013 on the East Coast of Australia and in Indonesia.