Miyagi beef cattle shipments barred
Miyagi beef cattle shipments barred
By MASAMI ITO
Staff writer
The government ordered a complete ban Thursday on
all shipments of beef cattle from Miyagi Prefecture after detecting
radioactive cesium above the government limit in some local cattle.
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| Rawhide: Cattle are tended to Thursday in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture, the same day all Miyagi beef shipments were banned.
KYODO PHOTO |
The government is also considering placing a similar
ban on beef cattle from Iwate Prefecture, where five cattle from
Ichinoseki and Fujisawa have already been found contaminated with
radioactive cesium exceeding the limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram.
That decision is expected to come next week, sources said.
The discovery of beef cattle from various prefectures
in northeastern Japan with elevated levels of radioactive cesium has
caused widespread concern.
The cattle were fed straw contaminated by fallout from the crippled and leaking Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Miyagi is the second prefecture after Fukushima to be given orders to suspend shipments of beef but likely won't be the last.
"We feel regret for those in the stock-breeding
industry but we will firmly continue to collect information and examine
the situation from the viewpoint of safety," Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yukio Edano said Thursday afternoon.
"And naturally, we will take measures if necessary."
Four of the six Miyagi Prefecture cattle are from Kurihara, and one each from Kakuda and Zao.
The farmers who shipped the six contaminated cattle and
others who fed their cattle contaminated straw will be obliged to hold
blanket tests on all of their slaughtered beef.
Other farmers will be required to test one cow on
each ranch. About 30,000 beef cattle are shipped annually from Miyagi
Prefecture.
The ban will be partially lifted at the request of the
prefecture if steps to improve safety are implemented, the government
said.
Edano added that the government would try to provide "appropriate compensation" to the farmers for the damages.
Many prefectural governments have decided to conduct blanket tests on their beef cattle, most recently Tochigi and Ibaraki.
Ibaraki will begin the testing Aug. 1 while Tochigi is expected to decide on the details next week.
The Miyagi, Gunma and Iwate prefectural governments
have also already announced their intention to conduct tests for
radiation contamination on all of their beef.
Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai told a press conference
his government will screen meat from all cattle brought to the
prefecture's two slaughterhouses from Monday.
About 90 head of cattle go through the two
slaughterhouses every day, and the prefecture will ship those that test
safe with a safety certificate.
Earlier reports said most of the contaminated beef
came from cattle fed rice straw that was kept outside in Fukushima
Prefecture during the reactor meltdowns. Some of the feed was shipped to
other areas.
Information from Kyodo added
