The mounting cases of beef containing high levels of cesium recall the 2001 domestic outbreak of mad cow disease, in that slow government action and poor communication have once again been blamed for exacerbating the damage, industry experts say.
Some 650 cattle fed hay tainted with radioactive cesium have been distributed to the market, with some of the meat already having been sold to consumers.
The beef cattle shipped from Fukushima, Niigata and Yamagata prefectures were given feed that contained in some cases up to 690,000 becquerels of radioactive material per kilogram. The government-set safety limit is 300 becquerels per kilogram.