Hong Kong reports no radiation anomalies in Japanese seafood tests

Hong Kong's food safety watchdog tested 427 Japanese seafood, seaweed and sea salt samples from 2-5 October, all passing radiation checks. No abnormalities were found in 150 local fishery samples or environmental monitoring by the Observatory since the Fukushima discharge began in August 2023.

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has completed radiation testing on 427 samples of Japanese aquatic products, seaweed and sea salt imported between noon on 2 October and noon on 5 October 2026. All samples were found to have radiation levels within safe standards, the government announced on 5 October.

Products not subject to Hong Kong's import ban must pass CFS radiation tests before being released to the market. Since 24 August 2023, when Japan began discharging treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, the CFS and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) have tested a cumulative total of 265,118 Japanese food samples, including 165,179 aquatic products, seaweed and sea salt items, all of which passed.

During the same period from 2 to 5 October, the AFCD tested 150 local fishery samples, all of which also passed radiation checks. The Hong Kong Observatory has stepped up environmental radiation monitoring of local waters and has detected no abnormalities to date.

The government provided links to the CFS's dedicated webpage on Japanese food import control measures, the AFCD's radiological testing results and the Observatory's seawater monitoring data for public reference.

The announcement came as part of Hong Kong's ongoing surveillance programme following the Fukushima water discharge, which began in August 2023. No further details on specific products or testing methods were released.