Chocolate milk products from Japan banned

MANILA, Philippines - The government will recall and ban all chocolate milk products imported from Japan after March 11.

Bureau of Animal Industry Director Dr. Efren Nuestro said the recall will cover chocolate milk products that were produced in areas in Japan affected by radiation contamination.

Nuestro said he has recommended to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala the issuance of a formal memorandum order that would temporarily suspend the issuance of veterinary quarantine clearances for chocolate milk products.

The Japanese government has announced that milk products, along with spinach, produced in farms located near the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant have been contaminated by radiation coming from the nuclear power plant.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is also closely monitoring mackerel imports from Japan as Japanese authorities have said that some of the sea water used to cool down the Fukushima reactors have been discharged back into the ocean.

The Philippines, according to BFAR data imports about 4,000 metric tons of mackerel from Japan for processing.