Sushi suspected in reactor fallout

Sushi suspected in reactor fallout

• Source: Global Times
• [08:51 March 22 2011]
• Comments

A diner enjoys sashimi at a Japanese restaurant in Beijing in January 2009. Photo: CFP

By Zhang Hui

Beijing's Japanese restaurants and markets are the latest targets for consumers who are concerned that both local and imported foods from Japan may pose a health threat in the wake of the crisis at the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactor.

Zhao Chen, 25, an IT worker in Daxing district and also a frequent patron of Beijing's Japanese restaurants, told the Global Times that he started worrying about the safety of Japanese food days ago, and definitely would not eat Japanese food regardless of its origin.

"I can't tell whether seafood like salmon is locally raised or imported from Japan, so I just quit eating all of it," Zhao said.

Restaurants and supermarkets in the capital that sell Japanese products have stated that they have stopped importing products from Japan.

Employees from Japanese restaurants, including Shota Muni Sushi & Grill and Matsuko Japanese Restaurant, told the Global Times that their seafood comes from Dalian or is imported from Norway, never from Japan.

The manager of Japanese restaurant Len Len, surnamed Yao, told the Global Times that they used to import salmon from Japan, but have stopped doing so out of concerns over radiation contamination.

"Two or three days ago, we started to import salmon from Norway," Yao said. "Our business was not affected at all."

An employee from the supermarket in the lower level of Beijing Pacific Century Place, in Chaoyang district, told the Global Times that lots of their products were imported from Japan before the earthquake, but that they have not imported any new products since then.

"I have to wait for orders from the manager as to whether we'll import new products or not," she said.

Chinese quality watchdogs asked local authorities to test food from Japan for radiation and ensure the safety of China's food imports, an official of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine told Xinhua News Agency Monday.

"It's very unlikely that China could be affected by the radiation leaking from the Japanese reactor, so residents should not worry about the safety of local food," Yang Zhi, the director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the Beijing Cancer Hospital, told the Global Times Monday.