Nuclear-contaminated wastewater is being dumped from the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. An aerial view showing that the discharge is causing discoloration in Okuma, Fukushima, Japan on August 24, 2023. Photo: VCG

 
The market regulation authorities in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, are investigating a local shop for selling food imported from a nuclear radiation-affected area in Japan, local media reports said on Wednesday. It's one of a number of recent food security cases related to food imported from Japan.

The goods in question are a batch of lollipops sold in an imported food store in Suzhou. According to the labels, the lollipops originated from Saitama Prefecture in Japan, one of the areas from where food imports are banned, Hangzhou TV reported.
 
The goods have been seized and authorities have started an investigation.

In online discussions on the matter, many netizens expressed their support for strict investigation of illegal food imports from Japan. "Not a fly should be let in!" One netizen wrote on China's Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo.

China's customs announced in July a ban on imports of food from Japan's Fukushima and nine other regions including Saitama. It came after Japan made final preparations for dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea. Food imports from some of these regions have been banned since 2011, following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The dumping of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean from Fukushima has become a global issue and has also raised concerns among Chinese consumers about the safety of imported Japanese food, said the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC). 

To prevent imports of Japanese food contaminated with radioactive substances and protect the safety of Chinese consumers, the customs decided to ban imports of food from ten prefectures in Japan, including Fukushima. 

On August 24, China announced a stricter import ban on all aquatic products from Japan to comprehensively prevent radioactive contamination from imported food.

Chinese customs said it will remain highly vigilant and take all necessary measures in a timely manner to ensure the safety of Chinese consumers. 

In August, a company in Taizhou, Zhejiang was fined 17,000 yuan ($2,332) by the local market supervision administration for selling unlabeled prepackaged food. The vendor was selling lozenges imported from Saitama, a nuclear radiation-affected area in Japan.

In July, a company in Jiashan, Zhejiang was punished for offering food products from multiple nuclear radiation zones. Law enforcement officials found goods such as candy, chocolate and juice drinks originating from Fukushima, Toyama, Saitama and Nagano prefectures in Japan.

According to media reports on Wednesday, a court in Jiangxi recently heard a case involving Japanese imports. A merchant was sentenced to return the purchase price and pay compensation for selling cookies imported from Saitama and failing to provide Chinese labels and quarantine certificates.

As Japan began dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean despite strong opposition from the international community, Chinese netizens expressed their anger and concern over food safety, with a large number of netizens saying that they would no longer go to Japanese restaurants.

Global Times