Busan Office of Education Strengthens Radioactivity Safety Inspections for School Meal Ingredients

Busan Metropolitan Office of Education will strengthen radiation safety inspections on seafood used as school meal ingredients to alleviate the concerns of students and parents regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.

Since 2014, the Busan Office of Education has enacted the "Ordinance on the Use of Radiation-Safe Ingredients by the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education" and has conducted radiation safety inspections on seafood 90 times annually, once a month.

Starting from September this year, the inspections will be significantly expanded to 180 times annually, twice a month, and the full inspections will increase from twice a year (semiannual) to four times a year (quarterly).

The inspections are conducted by officials from the Office of Education and Busan City who visit seafood manufacturers and suppliers for school meals to collect samples, which are then precisely tested at the Busan Institute of Health and Environment.

Wolnae Elementary School and Ilgwang Middle School conduct on-site radiation safety inspections using a "nuclide analyzer" supported by Gijang-gun.

Busan Office of Education.

Earlier, in July, the Busan Office of Education held a "Marine and Fisheries Department and Busan City Seafood Safety Management Policy Briefing" for over 600 school meal-related personnel, including nutrition teachers.

From the second semester of this year, the evaluation of school meal operations will also expand to include items related to ingredient safety, such as compliance with quality standards and origin management.

Ha Yun-su, Superintendent of Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, "Our office will continue to actively cooperate with Busan City to ensure that radiation-safe ingredients are used in school meals."

Since 2014 until last month, radiation safety inspections on school meal ingredients conducted by the Busan Office of Education have never detected any radioactive substances.

Additionally, a recent three-year full survey on the use of Japanese seafood in kindergartens and schools in the Busan area found no cases of usage, confirming that safe seafood is used in Busan school meals.

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