Radiation in Japan's Fish Raise Concerns all Over World

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will require seafood imported from Japan to be checked for radiation before it enters the food supply. But even with the new screenings, no one in the U.S. government is saying "stop eating tuna."

More specifically, an FDA spokesperson told ABC News that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement "is screening everything from Japan." However, screening does not entail testing all the seafood. all the testing of the seafood. In fact, the FDA inspects less than 2 percent of seafood, according to Winona Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch.

"FDA couldn't possibly with existing staff test all of the food that's being imported," Hauter said. "They inspect less than 2 percent of seafood. Their resources are really stretched."

So far, the FDA said that every piece of seafood that has been imported to the United States is safe.

Offshore from the Fukushima plant, the seawater is now testing at levels off the charts -- 7.5 million times more radioactive than the legal limit.

A fisherman said it was a "bad rumor" that the fish was unsafe to eat.

"The fish are totally fine, I believe," he said.

Even though radiation levels become diluted in large bodies of water, officials tested a sample of sand lance fish, often used for bait, and found that the species contained nearly double the levels of iodine 131 and cesium 137. The new regulation caps fish radiation levels at the same amount as vegetables—up to 2,000 bequerels of iodine 131 per kilogram.

Source: ABCNews