France has asked the European Commission to look into a harmonized system of controls on radioactivity in food and feed imports from Japan following the Asian country's nuclear crisis,
France has asked the European Commission to look into a harmonized system of controls on radioactivity in food and feed imports from Japan following the Asian country's nuclear crisis, officials said on Tuesday.
The European Union's executive arm advised EU governments last week to check radioactivity levels in food and feed imported from Japan but left each state to decide what measure to implement.
The French farm ministry officials said there had been no direct food imports from Japan into France since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but said food could have been imported through other EU countries within the EU's free market zone.
"The principle is the mutual confidence in the credibility of our systems, which is why we will ask the EU Commission that further than its recommendation to individually reinforce our checks at the border we have an harmonized European scheme," an official said.
Diplomatic sources said the Commission was due to examine the request on Wednesday. The farm ministry said France last week imposed that the level of radioactivity of all fresh food products from Japan, such as shellfish, fish, or vegetables, be tested.
Japanese fresh food imports into France amounted to just 8,800 tonnes worth 13 million euros ($18.47 million) last year, the ministry said. At the EU level, the Commission last week said Japan's total food and feed
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