Indonesia Asks for Radiation-free Stamps for Japanese Food

Indonesian Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said that the government has asked Japan to certify the safety of its processed and fresh foods exported to Indonesia amid the nuclear crisis in the country, local media reported here on Friday.

"Processed food shipped after March 11 should have radiation- free and radioactive substance contamination-free certificates from Japanese authorities," Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting held here Thursday.

The request has been sent to the Japanese embassy and covers baked goods, noodles, candy, spices, snacks and ketchup, among others.

Endang said processed food imported before March 11 were safe, referring to the day Japan was hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, triggering a nuclear crisis in battered prefectures where power plants were.

Ministry data show that the latest batch of processed food was imported from Japan on March 9, making them safe for consumption, according to Endang.

"There have been some fresh food imported [after that date] but they have been quarantined for further sample checks by the National Nuclear Energy Agency [Batan]," she was quoted by the Jakarta Globe as saying.

"The test will determine whether they are safe or need to be destroyed," she added.

The Health Ministry has a food-certification regulation, but it only calls for cesium tests in imported food from East Europe. The policy was approved after the 1987 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine.

Endang said the ministry would not issue a new policy, but would amend the existing regulation to include radioactive iodine- testing.