Radiation Safety Confirmed in Jeonnam Distributed Foods and School Meal Ingredients

Jeollanam-do Institute of Health and Environment Conducts 1,083 Gamma Radionuclide Tests
No Radioactivity Detected... Strengthening Food Safety for Residents

Jeollanamdo Institute of Health and Environment recently conducted radiation tests on agricultural and marine products, processed foods, and seafood used as school meal ingredients distributed in the region. Provided by Jeonnam Province

The Jeollanam-do Institute of Health and Environment announced on the 18th that after testing agricultural and marine products, processed foods, and seafood ingredients used in school meals distributed in the region last year for radioactivity (gamma and beta radionuclides), no radioactivity was detected in any of the samples.

This inspection was conducted to strengthen food safety for residents and to alleviate concerns following the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. A total of 1,083 samples were tested for gamma radionuclides (1,038 marine products, 25 agricultural products, and 20 processed foods) and 50 samples for beta radionuclides (marine products).

In particular, the number of gamma radionuclide (cesium and iodine) tests was more than doubled compared to 2023, and a new test for tritium (3H), a beta radionuclide, was introduced to further strengthen radioactivity testing. To achieve this, an additional high-purity germanium gamma radionuclide analyzer was introduced, along with new pretreatment equipment and a liquid scintillation counter for tritium detection.

Additionally, to ensure the safety of school meals for elementary, middle, and high school students who are more vulnerable to radioactivity, a business agreement was signed with the Jeollanam-do Office of Education, and a temporary exemption of inspection fees for seafood used in school meals was implemented. Of the 1,083 gamma radionuclide tests conducted last year, 720 samples (66.5%) were seafood ingredients for school meals, and no radioactivity was detected in any of them.

Yang Hocheol, Head of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Division at the Jeollanam-do Institute of Health and Environment, said, "We will continue to monitor radioactivity in distributed foods and seafood ingredients used in school meals, and do our best to ensure that all residents can consume food with peace of mind."

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