FDA to Increase Inspections of Food From Japan

Agency to assess radiation risks from imported products, including seafood, snack items and processed produce.

March 22, 2011

WASHINGTON - As Japan struggles to contain radiation from its stricken nuclear power facilities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was developing a revised protocol to ensure food imports from Japan are safe, MSNBC.com reports.

"As FDA assesses whether there is a potential health risk associated with FDA-regulated food products imported from Japan, the agency will develop a monitoring strategy that may include increased and targeted product sampling at the border," according to the agency's website.

The FDA said while there was no event in the U.S. necessitating the use of the radiation antidote potassium iodide, it was working with companies to increase production quickly (potassium iodide helps shield the absorption of radioactive iodine in human thyroid glands).

Roughly 60 percent of products imported from Japan are food, according to the FDA.

The FDA said it would examine foods and raw ingredients labeled as having originated in Japan or passed through the country at the time of its nuclear disaster.

While fish and seafood will be scrutinized, the FDA said that Pacific Ocean water "rapidly and effectively dilutes radioactive material."

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