Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Requests "Comprehensive Inspection of School Meals" Over Fukushima Contaminated Water Concerns

Expansion from Sampling Method to Full Survey
Psychological Anxiety Among Students and Parents

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has decided to expand radiation inspections of school meals from a sampling method to a full inspection in response to safety concerns regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.

A representative from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated on the 17th, "Although scientists have sharply divided opinions on the risk of contaminated water discharge, students and parents may feel psychologically anxious," adding, "To supply safe food ingredients, the Office of Education has requested a full inspection of school meals instead of the current level of sampling inspections."

Ahead of the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, on the afternoon of the 15th, researchers from the Aquatic Products Safety Inspection Team of the Agricultural and Marine Products Inspection Department at the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, are conducting radioactivity safety inspections on seafood.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Currently, radiation inspections of school meals are divided into two stages: inspections at the education office level and inspections by Seoul city-affiliated organizations. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to expand on-site inspections at the education office level to a 100% full inspection at the point when the discharge of contaminated water becomes imminent.

Additionally, they plan to request the Seoul city authorities to conduct full inspections for the detailed tests carried out by Seoul city-affiliated organizations. The radiation inspections conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Institute of Health and Environment at the Eco-friendly Distribution Center, a Seoul city-affiliated organization, will be expanded to cover all targets starting next month.

The Office of Education explained that imported seafood distributed domestically undergoes radiation quarantine by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and domestic seafood by the National Fisheries Products Quality Management Service, allowing only normal products to enter. Seoul students’ school meals undergo an additional 2 to 3 stages of inspections beyond this.

When school meals are distributed through the Eco-friendly Distribution Center, they go through a total of three stages: pre-radiation inspection by a government-certified radiation inspection agency, on-site inspection by the Office of Education, and detailed inspection by the Seoul Metropolitan Institute of Health and Environment. For general distribution, there are two stages: on-site inspection by the Office of Education and detailed inspection by the Seoul Metropolitan Institute of Health and Environment.

Currently, seafood from Fukushima and eight neighboring prefectures is banned from import altogether. However, as Japan has announced plans to discharge contaminated water, concerns have arisen that the current sampling inspections by the Office of Education’s on-site inspections and detailed inspections by Seoul city-affiliated organizations may not adequately detect contaminants.

The on-site and detailed inspections are not conducted for all schools in Seoul but are sequentially performed on 100 to 200 schools annually.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education reported that in 2022, radiation inspections were conducted on 370 schools (168 on-site inspections and 202 detailed inspections), and in 2021, on 267 schools (165 on-site inspections and 102 detailed inspections), with no abnormal products found.