HK govt heightens food safety concerns in response to Japan's nuclear waste water leakage

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is very concerned about the media report of the leakage of nuclear-contaminated water in Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and has immediately sought verification and further information from the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong (CGoJ).

In response to the Japanese Government's earlier decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station into the sea, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong. Besides, all vegetables, fruits, milk, milk beverages and dried milk originating from Fukushima are banned from importing into Hong Kong while such foods originating from the four prefectures nearby Fukushima, i.e. Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma, are allowed to be imported on the condition that they are accompanied with a radiation certificate and an exporter certificate issued by the Japanese authority. Chilled or frozen game, meat and poultry, and poultry eggs originating from the above five prefectures are allowed to be imported on the condition that they are accompanied with a radiation certificate issued by the Japanese authority which shows the radiation levels do not exceed the Codex guideline levels of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

The Government will continue to closely follow up the incident with the CGoJ with a view to safeguarding food safety and public health in Hong Kong.