Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after explosion????

Made from leaves that have not been oxidized.


Mar 19th, '11, 14:11

Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after explosion????

by TaoTeaLeaf » Mar 19th, '11, 14:11

I hope the food safety of Japanese Tea is still OK after after nuclear explosion.



Title edited by Moderator, "Nuclear" removed before explosion.

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Mar 19th, '11, 14:30
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by Chip » Mar 19th, '11, 14:30

I am moving this to Green Tea where this topic will be more at home. I am leaving a "Shadow" under Adagio> Announcements temporarily. Generally Adagio Announcements are for discussing announcements by Adagio. :mrgreen:

Of course we are all hopeful and optimistic that the prevailing winds will not worsen the situation.

There are related topics to read and discuss under Green Tea. Also this weekends TeaDay is open discussion on the catastrophe befalling Japan..

For the record however, they did not experience a "nuclear explosion" unless this is new news.

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Mar 19th, '11, 17:58
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by entropyembrace » Mar 19th, '11, 17:58

There was no nuclear explosion and there will not be a nuclear explosion at the Fukushima reactors in Japan.

The explosions you saw on TV were caused by super heated coolant water releasing hydrogen gas which is highly combustable...but certainly not nuclear.

The nuclear fuel did not explode and it will not explode...the control rods which automatically activated when the earthquake was detected functioned properly and shut down the reactors.

What happened was the tsunami destroyed all sources of backup power for the coolant pumps and a nuclear reactor is still very hot after it´s shut down and requires constant coolong. There was some worry that the uranium fuel would melt the steel containment vessel and escape for a few days but that didn´t happen...and with workers at the site improving cooling steadily for the past few days that won´t happen either.

Mar 19th, '11, 19:27
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by zeto » Mar 19th, '11, 19:27

That is only partially true.

"Japanese officials yesterday reclassified the rating of the accident at the plant from Level 4 to Level 5 on a seven-level international scale, putting it on par with the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the US.

The International Nuclear Event Scale defines a Level 4 incident as having local consequences and a Level 5 as having wider consequences." Some countries think that it should be classified as level 6.

Small amounts of radioactive materials have been found in their water now, and trace amounts have been detected all the way across in Southern California. Larger amounts have been detected in soil, but still apparently relatively safe. However it's important to know that the explosions and lack of cooling capacity did allow the radioactive materials to burn directly into the atmosphere.

"Early on Saturday, Japan announced that radiation was detected in spinach and milk produced near the Fukushima nuclear plant. While the levels were low enough to not pose a long-term threat to human health, they were above the national safety level, so the Japanese government has stopped sales of food products from near the damaged plant." Some countries are banning all imports from Japan.

Bottom line is that all products from Japan right now should be considered potentially contaminated. I would only consider purchasing products from Japan that have been extensively tested. Current crops tested for radioactivity and disclosed as parts per trillion safe I would accept.

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Mar 19th, '11, 20:07
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by JBaymore » Mar 19th, '11, 20:07

Mass hysteria is a powerful force. It reduces the IQ of groups of people to that of a bowl of pablum :roll: :lol: . Supposedly people in China are scooping up iodized salt and creating a shortage there because they think it will protect against radiation,,,,which doctors say it won't. People in the US supposedly scooped up just about all the available stock of potassium iodide pills here because the deadly radiation was going to cross the pacific intact and land in Iowa. (PS...... not something that you want to take without medical advice.)

If one reads that report on food.... after you get past the alarmist and sensationalist headline designed to improve ratings and profits.......... you'll notice the same report mentions that if you ate 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of spinach a day, every day, for a year, ..... you'd get exposed to about the same radiation as a single tomography scan.

Yum.... eat up.

I'd guess the exposure to tea might be similar if it were similarly contaminated.... which it likely WON'T be because the tea growing regions are far away from the nuclear plant. So maybe you'd have to brew 2.2 pounds of tea a day and drink it all and then eat the leaves. :lol:

best,

....................john

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Mar 19th, '11, 21:12
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by entropyembrace » Mar 19th, '11, 21:12

A lot of people are going to get hyperthyriodism from nahming potassium iodide tablets like candy thinking it will keep them safe from non-existant radiation. :roll:

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Mar 20th, '11, 00:22
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by rdl » Mar 20th, '11, 00:22

from the beginning of the nuclear age until present the experts and government agencies have shown ignorance, lied, allowed what should not have been allowed, caused great harm and death and did try to educate.
i think as this is a tea forum, the point is not to teach others all about nuclear energy, but correct them when mistaken and allow for the fears and concerns that nuclear energy brings out in people, especially in a time as uncertain as the last week. this can also be a place where they find reassurance.
i won't copy my thoughts posted in the Earthquake 3/11/11 topic but i find harsh the response towards those less certain of their or others' safety.

Mar 20th, '11, 04:13
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by zeto » Mar 20th, '11, 04:13

It's important to take the information with a scientific mind. Whenever a situation like this occurs it's prudent to assume things have been contaminated. The next step is obviously testing.... There will be many independent labs that will be doing testing over the next 12 months more than likely, and their results will be very important.

It's not really possible to liken other forms of radiation which are acute to chronic forms of radiation that would be present via contamination. It's also possible for ingested contamination to create local acute symptoms, which would probably appear as GI ulcers down the road.

It is most likely that the tea crops will be fine, however we cannot be sure for quite some time. If you do not heed such warnings and it turns out that they were contaminated, it's possible that nothing will ever happen to you... it's also possible that down the road something will happen... which is the nature of chronic exposure.

At the end of the day, whether the government lies or not is irrelevant, because at some point you have to trust someone. I believe that if multiple independent labs report levels that I find acceptable, I will go back to drinking Japanese tea... until then, I went out and bought a couple hundred grams of local sencha just in case. I am pretty sure that what I got was not packaged in the last week.

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Mar 20th, '11, 05:56
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by fire_snake » Mar 20th, '11, 05:56

entropyembrace wrote:

What happened was the tsunami destroyed all sources of backup power for the coolant pumps and a nuclear reactor is still very hot after it´s shut down and requires constant coolong.

:wink:

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Mar 20th, '11, 09:24
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by Ambrose » Mar 20th, '11, 09:24

:mrgreen:

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Mar 20th, '11, 10:22
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by Fireflower » Mar 20th, '11, 10:22

unfortunately there is this news

"An official from Taiwan's department of health said a shipment of beans from Japan's south-western Kyushu island had shown slightly higher radiation than naturally occurring trace levels.

The department said the radiation, detected only on the surface of the beans, was well below Taiwan's legal limit and not harmful to human health."

the fava it was from kagoshima that is more far than uji.

Mar 20th, '11, 10:57
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by Chasm » Mar 20th, '11, 10:57

I'm still buying some O-Cha tea as soon as Kevin starts shipping again. And I already have thyroid disease.

I just don't see cause for concern yet. I won't take any chances with my thyroid, so I'll keep an eye on the situation, but I still don't see a problem with drinking the tea.

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Mar 20th, '11, 19:24
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by JBaymore » Mar 20th, '11, 19:24

Fireflower wrote:The department said the radiation, detected only on the surface of the beans, was well below Taiwan's legal limit and not harmful to human health."

Mar 20th, '11, 22:23
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Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by zeto » Mar 20th, '11, 22:23

Is it well below your limit for your health?

Mar 21st, '11, 01:36

Re: Food Safety of 2011 Japanese Tea after Nuclear explosion????

by brlarson » Mar 21st, '11, 01:36

Chasm wrote:I'm still buying some O-Cha tea as soon as Kevin starts shipping again. And I already have thyroid disease.

I just don't see cause for concern yet. I won't take any chances with my thyroid, so I'll keep an eye on the situation, but I still don't see a problem with drinking the tea.
So am I, and I plan to buy a lot more Japanese greens this year, too, along with other Japanese goods.

Many employers are offering matching funds right now when you donate to organizations that are aiding with the crisis in Japan. If you are able to donate, then it is worth looking into the possibility of employer-matched contributions.

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