Japan to Ban Fukushima Beef

Nearly six months later, Japan is still dealing with the fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The country will soon ban cattle shipments from Fukushima prefecture after beef with abnormally high levels of radioactive cesium were discovered. The cesium made its way into the food chain through rice straw fed to cattle. Fukushima authorities say 84 head of cattle from five different farms were shipped to eight locations, including Tokyo and Osaka; Kyodo News, however, says as many as 143 cows could have been sent to all but 10 of Japan’s prefectures. It’s unclear if humans have consumed that beef yet, but retailers say it’s unlikely.