Fukushima farmers stop meat deliveries over radiation fears

Authorities in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture have asked farmers in the region, where a nuclear power station was badly damaged in March, to stop selling meat over new radiation fears. The move came after meat contaminated with high levels of radioactive caesium - up to seven times the permitted limits - was shipped to stores and markets and sold to unsuspecting customers, media reports said. The source of the contamination is thought to be straw that was stored outside in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. In a further development, radioactive caesium levels over 70 times the safety limits were discovered on Thursday in straw at a farm some 80 km from the devastated power station. The region had previously been considered safe by experts. Meat from over 40 cows fed with the straw had been sold locally in April-July, the farmer who made the discovery told journalists.