Cows barred from grazing as damaged plant leaks

Japan has asked farmers to keep cows and cattle in barns as radioactive contamination of milk spread from Fukushima prefecture, where high radiation levels and fires have hampered repairs of a crippled nuclear plant.

“To prevent milk contamination, we are advising farmers that cows should be barred from grazing, kept inside barns and fed with grass harvested before the nuclear plant accident,” said Mitsuhiro Honda at the milk and dairy products division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. “We are not concerned about the safety of beef as the meat now on the market came from animals born more than two years ago.” Japan has restricted raw-milk shipments from Fukushima and neighboring Ibaraki prefecture after tainted products were discovered through random testing.