Singapore has not found any samples of contaminated vegetables from Japan, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in response to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) podcast.

Rebutting the false claim made in the podcast, SFA clarified in a media release on Sep. 3 that it has not found any samples of contaminated vegetables from Japan.

Neither has SFA banned food products from any Japanese prefectures recently.

Podcast referring to outdated events

On Aug. 24, the WSJ released the podcast titled "More Countries Ban Import of Japanese Food". An article was produced based on the transcript of the podcast.

The podcast claimed that "Singapore's Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority" found radiation in "four samples of vegetables imported from Japan" and banned "food from two more Japanese prefectures".

However, SFA clarified the WSJ podcast's false claims, saying:

"The WSJ podcast has referred to a media release by the former Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in 2011. This has since been overtaken by events."

The podcast was making a reference to the AVA's media release on Mar. 25, 2011, which occurred two weeks after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

Since 2020, SFA has lifted the ban on the import of all food items from Fukushima prefecture.

Science-based approach

SFA also stressed in the media release that it adopts a "science-based approach" to assess food safety risks.

It said: "Food imported into Singapore is subjected to SFA’s surveillance and monitoring regime, which includes radiation surveillance".

Moreover, SFA stated that "enforcement actions will be taken" if any food import is found to be "unsafe or unsuitable for consumption".

Fukushima treated wastewater discharge

The WSJ podcast was produced in response to the recent discharge of treated wastewater discharge from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

In response, SFA announced that it has not detected any radioactive contaminant in food imports from Japan since 2013.

Some functions previously handled by Singapore's Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority have been replaced by the SFA since 2019.

You can also read the latest updates on imported food from Fukushima by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment here.

Top image from Yaroslav Shuraev/Pexels and Wikimedia Commons.