Fukushima Contaminated Water Discharge D-1, Chuseok Peak Season Puts Distribution Industry on Alert

Despite Establishing a Thorough Inspection Network Including In-House Precision Tests
Consumer Anxiety Increases Ahead of Chuseok... Closely Monitoring the Situation

As Japan plans to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean starting on the 24th, the domestic distribution industry has been put on high alert. Major large marts and department stores handling seafood have judged that stabilizing uneasy consumer sentiment ahead of the Chuseok holiday peak season is crucial. They have responded by strengthening seafood inspection measures step-by-step, emphasizing that products from distant seas or existing stockpiles are unaffected.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the distribution industry on the 23rd, major large marts have emphasized that they have been responding by establishing a 'radiation safety management system' since early this year to strengthen radiation safety management of seafood. E-Mart conducts a first round of radiation measurement using a simple radiation device at the logistics center for seafood products, followed by an additional precise radiation inspection the next day at the E-Mart Product Safety Center. E-Mart is currently responding at the normal stage among normal, caution, alert, and serious stages but is considering raising the level. E-Mart stated, "Since June, we have increased the number of inspections, conducting up to 50% sample precision inspections, but we are also considering raising the stage. At the caution stage, up to 75% of the target fish species will be sampled for inspection, and at the alert stage, up to 100% sampling inspection will be conducted."

Lotte Mart has also established and implemented a seafood safety inspection system at every stage from production areas to store delivery since February. Currently, the Lotte Safety Center has expanded seafood safety inspections from once quarterly to four times weekly for samples from major fishing ports, and plans to further increase inspection frequency after the discharge. Homeplus has not handled Japanese seafood since the Fukushima incident in 2011 and plans to secure and sell only products confirmed safe through supplier self-inspections for domestic seafood in case of contaminated water discharge.

Fearing a sharp decline in demand for Chuseok gift sets, they also emphasized that the components were already stockpiled before the contaminated water issue arose. Lotte Department Store secured more than three times the Chuseok stock volume of representative seafood items such as dried yellow corvina, salted fish, and anchovies compared to last Lunar New Year. They explained that they pre-stocked expected volumes through next Lunar New Year to enable safe purchases. Shinsegae Department Store also pre-secured domestic dried yellow corvina, hairtail, and tilefish stocks through next Lunar New Year. They are introducing new products such as crustaceans and salted fish from Argentina, Canada, Ecuador, and other regions geographically distant from Japan with low radiation risk. Among all seafood items at Shinsegae Department Store, Atlantic and Mediterranean products have nearly quadrupled compared to last year. Hyundai Department Store also explained that they have already completed purchasing volumes of representative holiday gift set items such as dried yellow corvina and tilefish. The stockpiled items are stored in warehouses maintaining proper temperatures, and they are securing as much raw material as possible for storable seafood like dried yellow corvina and hairtail while diversifying import sources.

Experts say that ultimately, consumer anxiety must be alleviated, so not only the industry's independent efforts but also active government responses are necessary. They emphasize the need for proactive efforts to ease consumer anxiety amplified by the start of Fukushima contaminated water discharge. Domestic seafood consumption sharply declined in 2011 when the Fukushima nuclear accident occurred and again in 2013 when the Japanese government admitted nuclear contaminated water leakage. Park Jun-mo, a researcher at the Korea Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives' Fisheries Economics Research Institute, revealed at a National Assembly forum this year that the average daily seafood transaction volume at Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market dropped by 12.4% over three months in 2011. In 2013, seafood consumption decreased by 40% in traditional markets and by 20% each in large marts and wholesale markets.

Professor Lee Eun-hee of Inha University's Department of Consumer Studies said, "Consumer anxiety is likely to last for about one to two months, and the situation will vary depending on how the government alleviates consumer concerns during this period." She added, "From the consumer's perspective, the most important thing is how vulnerable the seafood products finally sold and purchased are to radiation contamination, and the government must actively clarify this." Professor Lee suggested, "Supporting portable radiation detectors for seafood market merchants to keep and allowing consumers to check in real time, or periodically sampling water areas and publicly announcing contamination levels are various methods. If supported through such a two-track approach, consumer anxiety will be greatly reduced."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.