8/7/2019 ifn04-11

1/2

18 Marcus Clarke Street Canberra City ACT GPO Box 858 Canberra ACT 2601 ph +61 2 6272 3933 www.aqis.gov.au ABN 24 113 085 695

D E P A R T M E N T O F A G R I C U L T U R E , F I S H E R I E S A N D F O R E S T R Y

Imported Food Notice 04/11

Issued: 5 April 2011Supercedes: IFN 01/11

SUBJECT: Testing of some Japanese food imports forradionuclides

General InformationFollowing damage to Japans Fukushima nuclear facility in early March 2011, Food StandardsAustralia New Zealand (FSANZ) advised AQIS that import testing for radionuclides is required forcertain foods sourced from prefectures in Japan close to where the incident occurred.

Tested foods that show radionuclide levels below the safe level will be permitted entry intoAustralia. Foods that show radionuclide levels above the safe level will not be permitted entry.

Please Note: Only the foods mentioned below from the prefectures listed are required to be tested.

Foods that are subject to radionuclide testing Seaweed Fresh and Frozen Seafood (excluding fish pastes and fish sauces) Milk and milk products Fresh fruit and vegetables

Affected Prefectures Fukushima Gunma Ibaraki Tochigi Chiba

All other foods sourced from the above prefectures will not be subject to this testing.

Arrangements for identifying these foods to AQISAs with current arrangements for clearing imported food, brokers will need to answer a specificquestion when lodging entries so that AQIS can identify if the goods should be subject to testing.

Brokers will need to have information about the food being imported to correctly answer thisquestion:

Have the goods been in the Japanese prefectures of Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki orTochigi at any time since 11 March 2011?

Answering YES to this question will result in the food being referred to the imported food inspectionscheme for testing.

8/7/2019 ifn04-11

2/2

Page 2 of 2 IFN 04/11

TestingAffected foods will be tested to determine combined levels of Caesium (Cs137) and Caesium(Cs134). Foods will also be tested for levels of Iodine (I131). FSANZ have advised that acceptablelevels consistent with Codex Alimentarius guidelines are:

total Cs137 and Cs134 must not be more than 1000 Bq(becquerels)/kg I131 must not be more than 100 Bq/kg

Please note: foods must pass both limits

LaboratoriesAs with other testing under the imported food inspection scheme, all testing costs are to be paid forby importers.

Samples for testing will be accepted by AQIS appointed analysts approved for radionuclide testing.Laboratories that have current approval to accept samples for radionuclide testing are listed in theAQIS appointed analysttesting capability matrices.

Approved laboratories will subcontract radionuclide testing to the Australian Radiation Protectionand Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).

SamplingIt is possible that when radionuclide testing is applied, existing tests under the inspection schemewill also need to be undertaken. For example, in addition to radionuclide testing imported seaweedmay also be tested for levels of iodine.

In these cases, AQIS will need to take two sets of samples, one set for radionuclide analysis andanother set for any additional analysis other than radionuclide screening.

Further InformationIf there are any questions about the implementation and scope of the testing to be conducted by

AQIS as per this notice, please contact:

AQIS Imported Food Program - CanberraPhone: 02 6272 5488 (ph)Email:foodimp@aqis.gov.au

To keep updated with any changes to the scope of this notice, monitor the AQIS Imported FoodNotices webpage and subscribe to the Imported Food Notices RSS Feedhttp://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food/notices

The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)websitehas further information regardingfood safety matters.

The ARPANSAwebsiteprovides detailed information about the incident.

The World Health Organisation has publishedfrequently asked questions and answersin relationto concerns over the safety of food produced in Japan.

http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food/testing-labs/serviceshttp://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food/testing-labs/serviceshttp://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food/testing-labs/servicesmailto:foodimp@aqis.gov.aumailto:foodimp@aqis.gov.aumailto:foodimp@aqis.gov.auhttp://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food/noticeshttp://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food/noticeshttp://www.foodstandards.gov.au/http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/http://www.arpansa.gov.au/index.htmhttp://www.arpansa.gov.au/index.htmhttp://www.arpansa.gov.au/index.htmhttp://www.who.int/hac/crises/jpn/faqs/en/index7.htmlhttp://www.who.int/hac/crises/jpn/faqs/en/index7.htmlhttp://www.who.int/hac/crises/jpn/faqs/en/index7.htmlhttp://www.who.int/hac/crises/jpn/faqs/en/index7.htmlhttp://www.arpansa.gov.au/index.htmhttp://www.foodstandards.gov.au/http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food/noticesmailto:foodimp@aqis.gov.auhttp://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/food/testing-labs/services