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Mar 27 2011

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Food imports from Japan banned

Situation being monitored - Labs to check radiation
MUSCAT -- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has said that it undertook necessary measures to prevent the import of several products from Japan until it verifies that the products are free from radiation as a result of a nuclear power plant leakage after the recent earthquake that hit that country.

An official at the ministry told Oman News Agency (ONA) that, with reference to the announcement of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 21 and carried by the world media, it acted in co-ordination with the Health Ministry and Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry and undertook necessary steps to ban the entry of the Japanese products to the Sultanate unless they have been proven free of radiation.

The official said that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will issue a ministerial decision in this regard. The announcement made by the WHO expressed concern that radiation in the earthquake-hit areas in Japan was in excess of permissible limits in foodstuff. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR) is working out with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Directorate of Specifications and Meteorology, the food safety aspect.

Some international agencies have reported that dairy products and vegetables produced on farms in some specific areas in Japan have been found contaminated due to radiation from crippled nuclear power complex. "Our job is to monitor food products and ensure that no harmful food is supplied in the market. We are keeping a close eye on the situation and our laboratories are equipped with measuring the radiation level in food items," said Haitham Khalfan Alakhzami, Director of Food Monitoring at the MRMWR, when asked about the seriousness of the issue.

"The Food Safety Committee of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries is also keeping an eye over the whole situation and it is prepared to share information with the member countries," said Alakhzami, who is also a member of the GCC Food Safety Committee. Commenting on the ministry's preparedness to handle such a situation alone, without the involvement of other GCC countries if the situation demands, Alakhzami said the ministry takes maximum precaution while importing food items from any country.

"Secondly we keep our machinery up to date and staff well informed. Such situations, however, demand better equipment and training so that we should be ready to meet any such alerts in the future," he said. Alakhzami also sought the need of equipping the Centre of Food and Water Resources Laboratory located at Seeb with latest food monitoring equipment, holding of seminars and workshops to prepare the municipality staff for any such situation in future.

Meanwhile, the MRMWR has organised a three-day workshop to introduce the newly appointed food and hygiene inspectors to the structure and directives of the municipality services being done by the ministry.

"The workshop will be a good forum for the newly appointed food inspectors to understand among other things the challenges to handle the issue of nuclear radiation in food items," said Alakhzami.

Among the countries which have placed restrictions on the imports of Japanese food products after the radiation leak from nuclear power complex post Tsunami are: Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Canada. Earlier, the United States imposed an import ban on dairy products and vegetables produced on farms contaminated by Japan's crippled nuclear power complex.