Members of the European Parliament Reject Lifting Precautionary Measures for Food from the Fukushima Area

The Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee of the European Parliament voted on Thursday to object to the European Commission’s proposal to partially lift extraordinary inspection measures on food imported from parts of Japan affected by the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.

“I voted for the objection because I believe it is still too early to lift special precautionary measures. The Commission proposed their removal based on data from the Japanese government indicating that the risk of radiation and food contamination is within permissible parameters. I do not claim that the Japanese data is inaccurate, but given the nature of the potential threat, I think the EU should remain vigilant,” said committee member, Croatian MEP Biljana Borzan, as stated by her office.

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The Fukushima nuclear power plant experienced a meltdown in 2011 following an earthquake and tsunami. It was a serious accident that, however, did not result in catastrophic environmental contamination like that which occurred in Chernobyl.

The EU quickly imposed restrictions and enhanced inspection oversight on food imports from twelve Japanese prefectures following the accident. Six years later, the European Commission believes it is time to lift some of the extraordinary measures, but members of the European Parliament disagree with the Commission’s stance.

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The Commission’s proposal would lift special measures on a range of products, among which MEPs are most concerned about fish, shellfish, and rice.

“One of the products that would no longer undergo additional inspections is rice and products made from it. Given that rice is widely used in the production of baby and children’s food, I believe that increased caution is very much needed. By voting for the objection, we are asking the Commission to withdraw the proposal, create a new one by the end of the year, and publicly disclose the data on which the proposal was based,” Borzan stated, as noted in the announcement.