Philippines Starts Testing Imported Goods from Japan

The Philippine government has started testing imported products from Japan to ensure that they are free from any traces of radioactivity, the state-run Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Monday.

"In view of the recent nuclear plant crisis in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, the Department of Health- Food and Drug Administration is closely coordinating with the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) which is the agency tasked with the monitoring of the radiation level of the environment as well as food," FDA Acting Director Suzette Lazo said in an advisory.

"FDA is now sampling locally available imported food products from Japan to measure baseline radioactivity level as this supply was procured before the current crisis," she added.

Lazo said the PNRI has advised that there is no risk for the country being affected by the radioactive plume from Japan.

She urged the public not to be alarmed about possible radiation arising from Fukushima.