Japan Halts Shipments of Radioactive Food, Int'l Community Preempts Risk

The Japanese government's announcement Wednesday warning consumers not to eat leaf vegetables such as spinach and broccoli grown in and around Fukushima Prefecture due to the detection of radioactive substances, has sparked new fears in Japan and the international community as the fallout from Japan's nuclear crisis mounts daily.

Radioactive substances far exceeding legal limits have been detected in 11 types of vegetable grown near the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeast Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan told the governor of Fukushima Prefecture Wednesday, home to the stricken Daiichi nuclear power plant to urge people in the region to refrain from eating vegetables such as cabbage, the "komatsuna" leaf vegetable, broccoli and cauliflower.

The advisory came as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been leaking radiation since it was severely damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

And as workers battle to contain the escalating problems at the plant comprising six reactors, some of the cores of which are believed to have been at least partially melted, the latest installment of the catastrophe saw Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announcing Wednesday that consumers should avoid eating potentially contaminated vegetables grown near the faltering power plant.

The advisory from the ministry came following consultations with the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan and the ministry said on Wednesday that the vegetables should not be consumed "for the time being."

However, the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations halted shipments of potentially contaminated produce on Monday, to minimize health risks, but concerns have been raised about produce already shipped from contaminated regions before Monday and certainly prior to Wednesday's order to halt shipments.