Rice shipments begin in Fukushima

Rice farmers in Fukushima Prefecture have begun shipping early-harvested rice after it cleared tests for possible radioactive contamination. Rice is Japan's staple food.

The first batch of newly harvested rice was loaded onto trucks at a farm in Koriyama City on Monday.

Earlier this month, Fukushima checked radiation levels of early-harvested varieties of rice at paddies of all rice growers in the prefecture. Test results confirmed the safety of all the checked rice, although a small amount of radioactive cesium was detected in rice grown at one location.

A farmer who shipped his rice on Monday said he feels relieved as he is able to offer safe rice to consumers.

But he said the early-harvested variety accounts for only 5 percent of his crop, so he is still worried if he can ship other varieties, including the mainstay Koshihikari brand.

The freshly harvested rice will be available in local super markets from Tuesday.