The Singapore Food Agency just refuted a podcast by the Wall Street Journal that it found new radioactive food samples, and extended its ban on food imports from Japan!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Singapore Found New Radioactive Food From Japan!
This message (with a link to the WSJ podcast) went viral on WhatsApp and social media:
Singapore said it found radioactive contamination in four samples of vegetables imported from Japan and has extended the ban to food from two more Japanese prefectures.
Singapore’s Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority said radioactive contamination was found in Mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley), Nanohana (rapeseed plant), Mizuna (Japanese mustard) and perilla leaf samples.”
More Countries Ban Import of Japanese Food – With more countries detecting radioactive contamination in food imported from Japan, efforts to prevent it spreading through the global food chain have gained a new urgency (Wall Street Journal, 8/24/2023)
Recommended : Singapore Just Found More Radioactive Food From Japan?!
Singapore Refutes WSJ Radioactive Japan Food Podcast!
The Wall Street Journal podcast and transcript is genuine, and was posted on 24 August 2023, at 6:42 PM (local time). However, that was just an audio clip and transcript of an old WSJ article (now removed) that was originally posted on 25 March 2011 – more than 12 years ago!
It is unknown why the Wall Street Journal chose to publish this podcast and transcript from their old 2011 story, but it was released on the same day the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station started releasing its treated wastewater.
If there was any detection of radioactive food from Japan, it would have happened at least a day or two earlier, and would not have anything to do with the release of the treated wastewater from the Fukushima NPS.
Recommended : Fukushima Waste Water Release : Should You Worry?!
On 3 September 2023, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) issued a public announcement (PDF download) to refute the Wall Street Journal podcast which claimed that it found new samples of radioactive vegetables fin Japan.
SFA stated that it had not found any new contaminated vegetables from Japan. Neither did the SGA ban any food products from any Japanese prefectures recently.
The SFA also stated that it monitors all food imports, and will take action if any food imports were found to be unsafe or unsuitable for consumption.
Clarification on circulating article/podcast regarding import of Japanese food products
In response to media queries regarding a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article/podcast titled “More Countries Ban Import of Japanese Food”, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has clarified that it has not found samples of contaminated vegetables from Japan or banned food products from any Japanese prefectures recently. The WSJ podcast has referred to a media release by the former Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in 2011. This has since been overtaken by events.
We wish to reiterate that SFA adopts a science-based approach towards assessing food safety risks. Food imported into Singapore is subjected to SFA’s surveillance and monitoring regime, which includes radiation surveillance and enforcement actions will be taken should any food imports be found to be unsafe or unsuitable for consumption.
Recommended : Did Fukushima Just Release Black Radioactive Water?!
The announcement by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore was not posted in August 2023, but over 12 years ago – on 24 March 2011 (PDF download).
DETECTION OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINANTS IN FOUR SAMPLES OF VEGETABLES FROM JAPAN – AVA SUSPENDS IMPORT OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FROM ADDITIONAL TWO PREFECTURES
Radioactive contaminants have been detected in four samples of vegetables from Japan. The contaminated samples were imported from the affected prefectures of Tochigi and Ibaraki, as well as Chiba and Ehime which are outside the affected areas. The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) will extend its suspension on the import of all fruits and vegetables to include Chiba and Ehime with immediate effect.
Issued by Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority On 24 Mar 2011
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) had earlier stated that there will be “no immediate ban on seafood from Japan” following the release of the treated Fukushima wastewater.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) stated that its surveillance of the safety of food from Japan has been satisfactory. It has not detected any radioactive contaminant in food imports from Japan since 2013.
In fact, Singapore lifted pre-export tests and Certificate of Origin requirements on approved food imports from the Fukushima prefecture on May 28, 2021.
To be clear, Singapore has not initiated any new import ban of food from Japan.
Recommended : The Highly Radioactive Japanese Food Video Explained!
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
- Singapore Just Found More Radioactive Food From Japan?!
- Is BlackRock The Largest Shareholder Of TEPCO?!
- Did Yasuhiro Sonoda Die After Drinking Fukushima Water?!
- EU + Japan Have Secret Agreement To Re-Export Seafood?!
- What Makes Fukushima Radioactive Water Different?
- Did Fukushima Just Release Black Radioactive Water?!
- Did Hong Kong Just Ban ALL Food From Japan?!
- Fukushima Waste Water Release : Should You Be Worried?!
- The Highly Radioactive Japanese Food Video Explained!
- Truth About FDA Import Alert 99-33 On Japanese Food!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
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