More scrutiny on Japanese food planned over Fukushima
Environment and Ecology minister Tse Chin-wan said on Thursday that the government will further increase surveillance on food imports from Japan if and when the country starts releasing wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.  Tse said the Centre for Food Safety expanded inspections and radiation checks last month on sea products arriving from Japan, and these measures will be strengthened even more if the discharge takes place. Aside from food safety, the observatory would monitor radiation levels in Hong Kong waters and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department would keep tabs on local sea products to see if they are contaminated, Tse said. He added that the departments would upload daily radiation readings on their websites to keep the public informed. Tse also acknowledged that Hong Kong's planned ban on some imports may affect the restaurant trade, saying this is why the government announced in advance the measures it could take. "We made the announcement in advance so that the trade can get ready on what's coming next. Now they may have to start considering to avoid ordering sea products from prefectures that may come under the ban", he said A representative of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, Chan Keung, said the SAR's planned move would have a "quite substantial" impact on the sector.  Chan, who owns a Japanese restaurant, said business recently dropped by 20 percent because of news that Tokyo was still planning to go ahead with the discharge. He told an RTHK programme that trade may slump by half if the move actually takes place and it's possible that many Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong wouldn't survive.  He said the trade wants more details about the planned imports ban as it would cover the major export hub of Tokyo. "If goods come from outside those 10 prefectures but via the port in Tokyo, will they be allowed into Hong Kong, or what? We want more information on that", Chan said. He also called on the government to give the trade some clear guidelines.