38 FOOD SAMPLES FROM JAPAN CONFORM TO RADIATION LEVEL ALLOWED

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Thirty-eight food samples from Japan analysed to date, were found to conform to the radiation level allowed.

Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the samples included fish and
fish products, vegetables and dairy products.

"The Health Ministry has imposed Level 5 inspection, that is, detain, test and release under the Food Safety Information System of Malaysia (FoSIM), at the country's entry points starting March 16 on all food imported from Japan."

Liow said this after launching the Golden Horses Health Sanctuary,
New Health Screening and Preventive Medicine Centre in Seri Kembangan, near here, Tuesday.

He said imported food from Japan would only be allowed to be sold in the market if it conformed to the radiation level allowed.

Part of north-eastern Japan was hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11 which also caused a tsunami that damaged a nuclear plant.

Liow said the ministry was working closely with all the relevant agencies including the National Nuclear Agency, Atomic Energy Licensing Board and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to ensure that all food from Japan went through stringent inspection in light of concerns over radiation.

It has been reported that several countries including Singapore, the United States, Australia, Canada and Russia have banned the import of food from several areas in Japan affected by abnormal levels of radiation.

Malaysia has instead chosen to take precautionary measures like conducting stringent screening of food imported from Japan to ensure they are safe for consumption.

Information on screening results of imported food from Japan are available from the Health Ministry's Food Safety and Quality Division at http://fsq.moh.gov.my.