Bahrain has been put on high alert following reports of radioactive contamination in Japanese food products.

A team of inspectors are using radiation meters to monitor all foodstuff from the country at the Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP) and King Fahad Causeway.

'We have alerted all related personnel about the radioactive food contamination issue,' an official from the Health Ministry's food control section said yesterday.

'The main food imported from Japan is fish, but we are double checking any consignment originating from Japan for the safety of consumers.'

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared a nuclear state of emergency earlier this month following an earthquake and tsunami at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Radioactive contamination in food was detected above maximum levels in drinking water, dairy products and vegetables.

It resulted in the US, China and Oman halting imports of some Japanese food products over radiation fears.

'The Health Ministry is constantly following international alerts related to this issue and samples of food items are sent for analysis to Public Health laboratory,' said the official.

'The professional follow-up regulations are recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission together with the GCC Standards.

'They will be applied if necessary.'

The commission was created by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) to develop international food standards.

The official said the Health Ministry would revise its monitoring process to ensure safety of consumers.

'We are also following up with consumer protection directorate in the Industry and Commerce Ministry regarding this issue,' he said.

Health inspectors intercepted two air cargo consignments on March 22 and 23 from Japan.

'We found them free from radioactive properties,' said the official.

'However, if food items were found to be contaminated with radioactive materials, the procedure in place is to deport the whole lot to the country of origin instead of disposing them off in Bahrain.

'The importer has to pay the cost for this.'

A Bahrain Airport Company official said Bahrain International Airport does not operate any direct flights to or from Japan, which rules out the screening of travellers.

'According to the information we have received, the radiation did not reach a harmful stage yet,' said the official.

'If it does, we would expect guidance from Health Ministry and international civil aviation organisations on the measures to be implemented at the Airport.'-TradeArabia News Service