British luxury retailer Harrods has started selling peaches from Japan’s Fukushima region for £80 ($104) per box of three, in a bid to restore trust in produce grown there following the 2011 nuclear disaster. This marks the first time peaches from Fukushima have been available in a European store. Since the disaster, farms in the region, the second-largest peach producer in Japan, have struggled to sell their produce due to contamination fears.
Harrods’ sale of these peaches is part of the efforts by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the power plant’s operator, to rebuild the region’s reputation internationally. Following the UK’s lifting of import restrictions on Fukushima food products two years ago, Harrods will also start selling a variety of grapes called the Shine Muscat from the region in October. Similar campaigns have been conducted by Tepco in countries like the US and Thailand, with all exported farm and fishery produce undergoing radiation testing.
Despite these efforts, concerns about the lasting effects of radiation in Fukushima persist. The Japanese government’s controversial decision to release treated wastewater from the nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean faced backlash from countries like China and Russia. Efforts to clean up the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, including the recent operation to remove radioactive debris, are ongoing. Specialized robots have been developed to withstand the high radiation levels inside the reactors.
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