Skip to main content
updated

A vendor arranges vegetables at a greengrocery in the Togoshi Ginza in Tokyo March 23, 2011. Further contamination of vegetables added to global anxiety on Wednesday at radiation from Japan's tsunami-smashed nuclear plant where engineers are struggling to cool reactors in the world's worst atomic crisis for 25 years.Aly Song/ Reuters

Canadian officials implemented enhanced controls Wednesday on Japanese food imports, as fears mounted that the country's ongoing nuclear crisis has contaminated its food supply.

Officials said Canadian consumers have no need to worry about the safety of their food, but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency did announce that in addition to existing controls, milk products, fruits and vegetables from areas closest to the affected nuclear power plant will not be allowed entry to Canada without documents verifying their safety.



"The Canadian food supply is not at risk," Alice d'Anjou, a spokeswoman with the food agency, said in an e-mail response to queries.



Japanese products only make up 0.3 per cent of Canada's total food imports, and many of the top imports from the Asian nation - non-fermented green tea, sesame oil, scallops, sauces, and enzymes - will not be affected by the new rules.



Japan has banned the sale of food from some areas surrounding the crippled nuclear plant, which has been leaking radiation for nearly two weeks since the region was hit by an earthquake and ensuing tsunami.



On Wednesday, Japanese consumers cleared store shelves of bottled water after tests found the levels of radioactive iodine in tap water in Tokyo, more than 200 kilometres from the plant, exceeded safety standards for infants to drink.



Radiation from the nuclear plant has seeped into raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips from surrounding areas.



The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was halting imports of Japanese dairy and produce from the region near the facility and Hong Kong went further, like Canada requiring that Japan perform safety checks on meat, eggs and seafood before accepting those products.



Ms. D'Anjou said Health Canada and food inspectors were "actively monitoring the situation" and the measures could be adjusted as circumstances change in Japan.



The enhanced restrictions are an additional safeguard to existing import controls, officials said, which already included monitoring for radioactive isotopes in shipments. Food imports from the Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures surrounding the failing nuclear plant are now under particular scrutiny, the agency said.



Officials said Canadian food inspectors are able to detect even microscopic contamination at levels that would not have any impact on consumer health.



In B.C., the provincial health officer again urged Canadians on Wednesday to be prepared rather than panicked in response to the nuclear crisis in Japan, and reminded the public that radiation levels remain "minute" at monitoring stations along the West Coast.



Dr. Perry Kendall said that although there had been a tiny and expected increase in radiation levels, there was still no need to worry in B.C.



Dr. Kendall said current levels were within the normal range, and remained less than what a person would experience on a long-distance flight.



Despite repeated assurances, pharmacies and military surplus stores in B.C. say members of the public are still scrambling to buy medication for radiation exposure and supplies like Geiger counters and gas masks.



The provincial health officer warned that taking the medication can be harmful in the absence of high levels of radioactivity, and he said residents should instead take the tragedy as a reminder to make sure they're prepared for an emergency in B.C.





Interact with The Globe