FDA: No Current Risk to U.S. Food Supply From Fukushima

Major U.S. public health agencies are reassuring U.S. consumers this week that the food being sold nationwide, including seafood, has not been affected by the Japan nuclear power plant disaster and is safe to eat.

"Based on current information, there is no risk to the U.S. food supply. FDA is closely monitoring the situation in Japan and is working with the Japanese government and other U.S. agencies to continue to ensure that imported food remains safe," according to the FDA's Website. "FDA does not have concerns with the safety of imported food products that have already reached the U.S. and are in distribution."

The message came after reports of fish contaminated with high levels of radioactive materials being caught nearly 50 miles from Japan’s Fukushima plant, which has been leaking radioactive material for weeks after the deadly earthquake and tsunami struck the country last month.

Experts from the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that no contaminated fish have turned up in the U.S. or U.S. waters, explaining that U.S. food monitoring systems would detect even a single exposed fish, according to the Wall Street Journal. The agencies also advised that consuming fish contaminated with the levels of radioactivity seen thus far in Japan would not pose health risks.

The CDC said no one in the U.S. should be taking potassium iodine as a preventive measure against consumption of radioactive iodine-131, the Journal reported.