Japan’s Tainted Food

The Japanese government has found that the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has affected the island nation’s food supply. Officials have reported higher than normal levels of radioactive iodine in milk and spinach. The levels found in the milk and spinach were five and seven times the norm, respectively. Still, Yukio Edano, the country’s chief cabinet secretary, says the levels “do not pose an immediate [health] threat.” According to Dr. David J. Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University, about 98 percent of exposure to radioactive iodine comes from dairy products.