New Zealand Not to Halt Japanese Food Imports

New Zealand is not following the United States and Australian in ordering a halt to Japanese food imports, such as sauces and seaweed, amid rising radiation concerns, the Food and Safety Authority said on Thursday.

Authority officials met on Thursday and decided that there was not going to be any change in New Zealand's position on Japanese food imports, the New Zealand Press Association reported.

New Zealand is still monitoring the situation and based on the information that is available today, we have not identified any food import from Japan that would cause us any alarm," FSA spokesman David Crowe told NZPA.

The authority was in constant contact with counterparts in other countries over irradiated food products although New Zealand did not import as much from Japan as did the United States, Australia and Europe, Crowe said.

Radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused by a tsunami triggered by the March 11 earthquake had contaminated food products such as milk and vegetables, and high levels of radioactive iodine and caesium were also measured close to water discharge points at the Fukushima plant.