PUTRAJAYA - The Health Ministry will be monitoring food products imported from Japan to ensure it is free of radiation contamination.
Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the government would monitor food items such as fish and fish-based products, fruits and fruit-based products, cereal, beverages, canned food and meat.
Last year, the country imported more than 48,000 tonnes of such food from Japan.
"This is a precautionary measure. We will be monitoring the situation," he said yesterday.
Liow's statement comes a day after a report quoting local scientists who reassured the public that should there be a meltdown at the Dai-ichi Fukushima nuclear plant, the radiation would not reach the country due to the distance from Japan.
Aeon Co (M) Bhd, which runs the Jusco supermarket chain, assured consumers on the safety of its products.
Aeon general manager and corporate social responsibility and corporate branding department head Noryahwati Mohd Noh said its supermarkets mostly imported dry food products from Japan.
"In terms of wet food products, we only import two types of mushrooms from Japan and we can vouch for their safety as they are imported from Honshu island, which is 300km from the areas affected by radiation contamination," she said.
Jusco supermarkets also sell strawberries and apples from Japan. However, these are seasonal products and are not available in the supermarkets at present.
"Jusco is taking all precautionary measures in light of the current situation in Japan. The safety of our customers is important and we will follow whatever guidelines set by the authorities to ensure that all products imported will not harm consumers," said Noryahwati.
The New Straits Times also spoke to a company running a Japanese restaurant chain. The spokesman, who declined to be named, said as most of their raw materials were imported from other parts of the world, it would take a wait-and-see approach.
Meanwhile, AFP said Singapore was also testing food imported from Japan for radiation, with Taiwan planning to follow suit after another explosion rocked an earthquake-hit atomic plant.
"As a precautionary measure, AVA (the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore) will monitor Japanese produce based on source and potential risk of contamination," Singapore's food regulator said in a statement.
The AVA said the bulk of Japanese imports arrived by sea, but high-end Japanese restaurants in Singapore routinely used air freight to fly in produce such as raw fish -- integral to sushi and sashimi -- to ensure its freshness and quality.
Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration said it was planning to test food from Japan and was finalising regulations governing such measures.
-New Straits Times