Seafood from Japan
Seafood from Japan
As of today, there is no formal announcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on how the US is treating imported seafood from Japan. We were advised by the local FDA office who confirmed with headquarters that their stance remains the same as the Agency’s statement issued in April 2021, when they provided their updated response on the releasing of this wastewater.
On March 2011, the damage to the Fukushima plant caused by the 9-magnitude earthquake in Japan released radiological contamination to the surrounding areas. FDA responded by issuing the IA, “Detention Without Physical Examination of Products from Japan due to Radionuclide Contamination.” The basis for the IA is section 801(a)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which states that FDA-regulated products are subject to refusal and will be refused admission into the United States if the products appear to be forbidden or restricted for sale in the country in which they were produced or from which they were exported. On April 2021, based on this scientific review as well sampling of foods imported from Japan and U.S. domestic food products, the Agencies believed that there would be no impact to human and animal health if the treated wastewater were to be discharged into the ocean, as proposed by Japan. Consequently, FDA is not advising consumers to alter their consumption of specific foods imported from Japan or domestically produced foods, including seafood. On September 2021, FDA deactivated Import Alert #99-33 (IA) that has targeted certain food products from Japanese prefectures (Japan’s equivalent of a U.S. state) located near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant since 2011.
Flegenheimer will continue to monitor for any updates and will keep you all posted.
To read the full response from FDA in 2021:https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-response-fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-power-facility-incident
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