In the news recently, British foreign minister Boris Johnson drank from a can of peach juice from Fukushima to show that he believes it is safe.
An article about it is here:
I wanted to explain a little about the peach juice that he was drinking.
Before March 11, 2011, Fukushima Prefecture was known for its succulent fresh fruit. Of course, the nuclear meltdowns completely ruined the reputation here.
Is food grown in Fukushima safe? Fukushima food is checked to make sure it is safe before it is sold. (A sample is checked to make sure that any radiation amount is within safe limits, and the rest in the batch is presumed to be the same as the sample. Oh, and by the way, all food–not just food from Fukushima–contains amounts of radiation. Radiation comes naturally from the sun. So what they are checking for in Fukushima’s foood is EXCESS amounts of radiation, unsafe amounts.) So we are told that it is safe.
Do I believe it? Actually, yes I do. Playing the odds, maybe? Putting my trust in politicians? I feel it is a risk benefit situation, which we apply in virtually every thing we do, whether we realize it or not. Is the benefit of riding in this car worth the risk of being killed in a car accident? Usually we will say, heck yes.
It’s the same for me with food. Is the risk high? I think that Fukushima food is safe, so I feel that the benefit is higher than the risk. I wouldn’t pick wild mushrooms in the forbidden zone…..but I will eat a Fukushima peach.
After the earthquake, I stayed with my mother-in-law who is a farmer. She would avoid buying vegetable and fruit from China because China has laxer rules about pesticides than Japan. So for her, as a farmer, the amount of pesticides were important. (And yes, she and her husband do use pesticides, they are not organic farmers. But their vegetables are raised with a lot of love and care, so they don’t use excessive amounts of pesticides.)
Back to the Fukushima peach juice. The juice that Boris Johnson was drinking was a gourmet peach juice.
It can be bought at several places, but you won’t find it in a vending machine, or a discount store. I went to the station to purchase it. This is the lobby where one buys bullet train tickets. If you look to the very back, you can see a tiny shop which sells souvenir food products from Fukushima Prefecture.
Souvenir Shopping: Fukushima
I was given permission to photograph. All the photos are Fukushima Prefecture products, so I won’t repeat myself by saying so with each photo.
Various peach juices. The prices are a little more than one U.S. dollar per can. I think Boris Johnson was drinking from the pink can on the far left.
Some pricier juices.
Alcoholic drinks
photos of Fukushima
photo of Fukushima City’s famous sightseeing spot, Hanamiyama
Below that is a map of Fukushima Prefecture. (I live in the upper green part. The Pacific Ocean is to the east of the blue part.)
Expensive (gourmet, of course) jams
Ultraman (on left) is here because his creator is from southern Fukushima Pefecture.
Licca (a doll popular throughout Japan) is also from Fukushima
Since peaches are THE most famous fruit for Fukushima City, there are lots of peach products. Like peach cookies
More peach snacks–Everything you see is peachy
Not peachy, but I think this is cute
“Fukushima Premium Excellent Chocolat”
Where food items are grown. The nuclear power plant (now no longer functioning) is in the white part, on the coast.
A cute sign. The sales staff were very friendly and helpful. They were not aware of Boris Johnson consuming the peach juice, so I printed off some articles to bring to them and show them…… 🙂
I rarely take selfies….but this is a photo of me with some Fukushima peach juice. (Specifically peach juice from a town called Date, just north of Fukushima city. ) It’s delicious, it really is! However, I don’t drink it for two reasons: it is expensive, and I don’t drink fruit juices because they are high in calories (I drink tea or water.)
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