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European Union Commissioners passed secret emergency law to increase radiation contamination in food to 20 times higher than before

[BRUSSELS: Becky Griffiths, Food Safety Contributor]

On 27th March, the European Union Commissioners secretly implemented Emergency Ordinance 297/2011 which upped the amount of permitted radioactive contamination in food to more that 20 times higher than the previous standard.

Such laws are designed to prevent food shortages in Europe during nuclear emergency situations.  However, this one was directed towards Japan to aid its food export trade which has been severely damaged by the Fukushima disaster which has resulted in high levels of radioactive contamination in most of Japan which now has spread worldwide.

Before the secret law was implemented, a maximum of 600 becquerels of radioactivity (cesium 134 and cesium 137) per kilogram had been permitted.  However, the law had permitted food supplies from Japan recording more than 12,500 becquerels per kilogram to be safe for importation and consumption in Europe.  Emergency Ordinance 297/2011 is still in force.

It was the valiant effort of the European foreign news agencies like Kopp Online and Xander News which had alerted the public to the Commissioners’ secret “emergency” law which had gone ahead without informing members of the public and which had not been directed towards the safety of Europeans, but for the convenience of a sovereign foreign power.

Due to the anger emanating from ordinary people living in Europe over the secret law when there appeared to be no threat to food in Europe from the Fukushima disaster and following intense lobbying from consumer safety groups, such as Food Watch, the European Commission has revised its policy and is now applying more stringent limits:-

Friday, 8 April 2011:  most foods from Japan cesium values ​​are allowed up to 500 becquerels per kilogram down from the Emergency Ordinance’s 600 to 12,500 becquerels per kilogram;

Update 14th April 2011:  Commissioners announce the radiation limits again to be moved downward – see implementing Regulation 351/2011 and Annex.

In the meantime, the US Department of Energy has recently reported that the radioactive contamination situation in Japan is severe and getting worse. Over 800 square kilometers of the area surrounding the Fukushima plant is now heavily contaminated with cesium and deadly plutonium. The Pacific ocean is also seriously contaminated and high radioactive readings have been reported in food and water in France, other European countries, China and the USA.  Read more…..

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Posted on May 18, 2011 at 22:02 in Breaking World News, China, Crime, Energy, Environment, Europe, European Affairs, Fukushima, Japan's Nuclear Disaster, US & Canada, War on Terror   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL

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