China Resumes Imports from Japanese Prefectures

China has resumed imports of food, agricultural products and feedstuffs from two Japanese prefectures for the first time since the recent nuclear crisis, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said on June 19, 2011.

The AQSIQ said that since the 22nd of May, products from the Japanese prefectures of Yamanashi and Yamagata have met China's food safety requirements, so China has decided to resume imports from these two areas.

Following the nuclear disaster at Japan's Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, AQSIQ suspended imports of food and edible agricultural products from 12 prefectures in Japan in April this year.

Imports from the 10 other affected prefectures are still under suspension.

The AQSIQ also said China will not demand that food products (excluding vegetables and another five food categories) imported from Japan carry government-issued certification of radiation safety. But all products will still require certification of origin.