Suwon Agricultural & Fishery Products Wholesale Market Seafood: Safe to Consume

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] All seafood distributed at the Suwon Agricultural & Fishery Products Wholesale Market will undergo safety inspections twice monthly using a portable radiation detector.

Suwon City announced on the 25th that it has introduced and begun operating a portable radiation detector to strengthen safety management so that citizens can purchase seafood distributed at the Suwon Agricultural & Fishery Products Wholesale Market with confidence.

The city conducted safety inspections on 10 types of seafood distributed at the Suwon Agricultural & Fishery Products Wholesale Market (sea squirt, octopus, blue crab, salmon, etc.) using the portable radiation detector from the 1st to the 21st and determined that all results were "compliant," the city added.

Until last year, seafood samples were collected and submitted to the Gyeonggi Province Institute of Health & Environment's Agricultural & Fishery Products Safety Testing Center for radioactivity and heavy metal inspections (twice each annually). However, with the introduction of the portable measuring device, radioactivity safety inspections can now be conducted at any time.

Seafood radioactivity safety inspections check whether radioactive substances are detected above the standard level in seafood. The portable measuring device measures the surface of the specimen (seafood) for 10 seconds, and if the standard of 3cps (cps: unit of measurement for total radiation signals generated per second) is exceeded, distribution is immediately halted and a detailed inspection is requested from the Gyeonggi Province Institute of Health & Environment.

Items that receive a "non-compliant" determination in the inspection results are restricted from shipment for up to six months at all national public wholesale markets, including the Suwon Agricultural & Fishery Products Wholesale Market.

From January 2014 to the present, the city submitted samples to the Gyeonggi Province Institute of Health & Environment on 33 occasions and conducted radioactivity and heavy metal safety inspections on 285 batches of distributed seafood, all of which received "compliant" determinations.

An official from the Suwon Agricultural & Fishery Products Wholesale Market said, "We will focus inspections on imported seafood such as Japanese-origin products to alleviate concerns about radioactivity-contaminated seafood," and "We will do our best in food safety management so that citizens can visit the market with confidence."