August 31, 2009

An Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Ministry survey has found that 94 cases of mold-like foreign matter was detected in June in rice the government has imported in accordance with the so-called “minimum access” agreement. The detection of mold-like foreign matter on MA rice, which was on the increase, was 30 times more than that in June 2008.

The government purchases MA rice from importers and keeps it in government storage before it is sold to distributors to be used only for processed foods.

In October 2008, mold-like foreign matter was detected on MA rice which later turned out to be the deadly moldy poison aflatoxin. The agriculture ministry decided to start from December surveying every bag of MA rice with the surveyors’ own inspection teams.

The ministry’s introduction of this survey method was the result of the pressure brought to bear by the Japanese Communist Party and the general public calling for no tainted rice in Japan.

It seems appropriate for the ministry to carry out the inspection before MA rice is actually distributed in the country. However, the tons of MA rice demand high costs for inspection, storage, and incineration when detected to be tainted. In order to get rid of the wasteful spending of tax, the urgent need is to stop importing MA rice, the source of all troubles. Akahata, August 31, 2009