U.S. Begins to Quietly Ban Items from Japan Due to Fukushima Radiation Problems

From Seattle Organic Restaurants:

According to FDA’s website, FDA is processing all food products from Japan in four categories:

Category 1: Products that the Japanese government has restricted for export or sale. (These products are prevented from entry to US):

1. Prefectures, and dace, ayu, and cherry salmon (yamame) from Fukushima.
2. Spinach, lettuce, celery, cress, endive, escarole, chard, collards, and other head-type leafy vegetables from the Fukushima Prefecture.
3. Turnips and other non-head type leafy vegetables, as well as broccoli, cauliflower, flower head brassicas (i.e. broccoli and cauliflower), mushrooms bamboo shoots, and Ostrich fern from the Fukushima Prefecture.
4. Sand lance from Fukushima Prefecture
5. Milk from the Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures.
6. Spinach and kakina from the Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures.

Category 2: Products from Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Tochigi Prefectures that Japanese government has not currently banned:

Under Import Alert 99-33, the authorities may detain dairy and fresh produce Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Tochigi Prefectures when they arrive in the U.S.

Category 3: Foods and feed products that are not covered by FDA’s Import Alert coming from these three Japanese Prefectures:  

1. Fukushima
2. Ibaraki
3. Tochigi

Category 4: All the other FDA-regulated food products from Japan that are not listed in the Import Alert and do not belong to other categories

Authorities will review these products using standard procedures, and as part of this may monitor and sample products as resources permit.