India keeping a close eye on food item imports from Japan

With radiation scare spreading across Asia following blasts in nuclear reactors in Japan due to last week's earthquake and tsunami, India is now keeping a close watch on food items imported from the island nation.

"We are currently watching the situation as a part of the surveillance, though we have not taken a call yet to ban any of the food items," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Chairman P I Suvarathan said.  

He said the FSSAI is currently reviewing the situation and will decide to ban import of any items if it becomes "dangerous enough" due to radiation exposure.

"Not all the products will be impacted from the radiation," Suvarathan added. 

While India does not import primary food items from Japan, processed foods, sea food, oil seeds and seeds of vegetables such as cauliflower and cabbage come from there, a commerce ministry official said.

Besides, fruits such as citrus along with diary products, confectionery items, tobacco products also come from Japan.

Industry officials pointed out that the current situation is unlikely to have much impact here in India as the country's food item imports from Japan is minimal.

As per international media reports, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines will test Japanese food imports for radiation.

FSSAI in India as been set up under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as a statutory body to establish scientific standards on food quality and safety.