Testing for presence of radioactivity in food products imported from Japan to Canada

Abstract

Following the Fukushima Nuclear accident of March 11th of 2011, many people, particularly among the general public are still skeptical about the safety of foods imported from Japan. Furthermore, currently little radiation monitoring of food happens in Canada. The present study aims to test for the presence or absence of gamma radioactivity in various food products imported to Canada from Japan. Thirty commonly imported Japanese and thirty-two additional Canadian food products were purchased from supermarkets and convenience stores in Vancouver, British Columbia. All samples were tested for gamma radiation from cesium-134 and cesium-137 using a portable gamma spectrometer, the EXPLORANIUM GR-135 Plus Identifier. All food samples tested in this experiment were found free of any detectable gamma radioactivity.