TV show reveals flawed goods
Japan food products nuke- contaminated: CCTV
China on Thursday expressed its concern over the safety of food products imported from Japan, after the annual national CCTV gala claimed that a Japanese brand sells food products in China from regions which are contaminated by nuclear leakage in Fukushima.
The Japanese government has not given a clear and convincing response to other nations’ concerns over the nuclear leakage that occurred six years ago, said Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, at a press briefing on Thursday, adding that many Japanese media believe the Japanese government has not yet done enough to solve problems from contaminated water, soil and radioactive waste.
Quoting Japanese media, Hua said that Tokyo’s measures lack transparency, and the data it has provided related to food safety is not persuasive.
The China Central Television ( CCTV) gala on Wednesday highlighted several Chinese and foreign companies which it said offer unqualified services as well as fake and shoddy products, including forbidden food from nuclear- contaminated regions in Japan.
Food products, such as Niigata rice and Tokyo Yomeishu, are sold in some Muji stores and supermarkets of the Japan United Stores Company, the CCTV said. Several Chinese trading companies involved were also named, such as Dolphin Cross- Border Technology Hong Kong Company, claiming to be the largest online platform for imports of baby and maternity products.
In April 2011, shortly after the Japanese nuclear leakage, the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine banned food, agriculture and fodder imports from 12 counties in Japan, including Fukushima, Tokyo, Niigata and Tochigi.
Many Chinese consumers said they were upset after hearing that Calbee cereals, one of the most popular Japanese products sold online, are produced in Tochigi.
However, Muji denied on its Sina Weibo account on Thursday that they have been importing products from the forbidden regions, saying that CCTV had misunderstood the signs on the food products, which is not where the products are manufactured but the company’s registered address.
Chinese authorities will take measures in accordance with the law to ensure food safety and public health, Hua said.
More than 13,000 online businesses were allegedly selling contaminated food products from Japan, data from the Market and Quality Supervision Commission of Shenzhen shows, the CCTV said.
Some trading companies or platforms are evading Chinese customs quarantine inspections in the name of personal use, which have been shipping products to customers directly from overseas or from bonded warehouses, Shenzhen commission director Wu Bing was quoted by Xinhua as saying on Wednesday.
In the meantime, the CCTV program also claimed the US brand Nike Inc has been misleading the public over the air cushions in its “Hyperdunk” shoes, sold at 1,499 yuan ($ 217).
The same show likewise cited an eyewear company for reportedly selling illegal visual products to gather information from students in hundreds of middle schools.