Posted on 03/17/2011 8:48:38 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Radiation Fears, Hong Kong Shoppers Stock up on Japanese Milk Powder
2011-03-16 13:16
Japan’s escalating nuclear crisis is causing alarms in neighboring countries. On Tuesday, hundreds of Hong Kong residents waited in line for hours to buy baby formula imported from Japan. They fear that radiation leaks from the country's quake-stricken nuclear power plants could taint future products.
Hong Kong police were brought in to control parents and grandparents queuing outside a specialty shop. Once the store opened, shoppers were limited to one carton of milk powder per person.
[Ray Chueng, Hong Kong Resident]: “If I don't buy it now, the next batch might not be safe because the baby is used to this Japanese milk formula. Even if the suppliers say it's OK in the future, I don't feel safe. I don't want to feed my baby with that. I'm worried about radiation contamination."
Growing children are more susceptible to radiation poisoning, which can cause mutations in DNA and cancer. A Greenpeace campaigner says radiation leaks in the environment could have lasting effects on fresh produce like milk.
[Prentice Koo, Greenpeace Climate Change Campaigner]: "There is also a very serious danger for milk products because there is another radioactive element called cesium. The half-life of cesium is 100 years, so in a more simple way to describe it, it emits radiation for hundreds of years so it will really contaminate the food chain and pose a long, very long danger to the food."
Japan’s neighbors like South Korea, Singapore and Thailand have all said they will be testing imported Japanese products for radiation.
wonder they don’t want milk powder from China?
Hold the melamine?
The half life of cesium 137 is 30 years, not 100 years
Fear will cost many billions and do far more damage than will the actual harm of any nuclear contamination.
On the other hand, somebody is making a killing in this niche market of limited time window.
Follow the money! LOL
An afterthought. Think of the donations pouting into the anti-nuke organizations.
Yeah, I am afraid that Hanoi Jane is feeling she is young again.:-(
"Made in ..." does not mean that the ingredients came from that country, only that the gross of value was added there. For example, tainted apple puree from China can be mixed with Canadian water and labelled as Apple juice made in Canada.
Milk tainted with radioactivity can be processed into milk powder and milk powder sold to the chocolate manufacturer across the globe. You still get tainted milk. Happened before. Austria processed all milk during Chernobyl fallout, kept powder for several months and made milk chocolates with tainted milk.
The moral of the story - stock up and if you do not need it a year down the road, donate to local soup kitchen. Better safe then sorry.
(I stocked up on Sapporo beer, will destroy it myself)
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