November, 2011
Dear customers
We have just got the test results of our material Aracha from the
institute. We confirmed that the none of the last harvest in season we
handle exceeds the regulatory levels. On top of that, the readings of
radioactive cesium in last harvest was decreased from the second harvest,
and it was even not detected from two specimens in western Shizuoka;
Fukuroi area and Hamamatsu - Iwata area.
We see that the situation is getting better, and those radioactive cesium in tea is on the down slope.
However, we avoid the subjectivity of judgments about tea safety and will keep testing our materials.
Hishidai Co.,Ltd.
August 2011
Dear customers,
We keep voluntary testing each harvest at the institute, and it has
been confirmed that none of the second harvest we handle exceeds the
regulations.
The test results show that the radioactive iodine has never been found
in any of the tea we buy from the beginning of the season, and the
radioactive cesium in the second harvest have greatly decreased
compared to the first harvest.
Since the radioactive cesium is decreasing harvest after harvest, we
assume that the initial contamination occurred just after March 11th,
and the situation is getting better gradually as time passes.
We are aware of that we have an ongoing responsibility to provide you with the latest information and transparency.
Hishidai Co.,Ltd.
June 2011
Dear customers,
The prefecture of Shizuoka has tested dried leaves additionally on 7th and 9th in this
month. 19 specimens were taken from the producing areas.
The
radioactive iodine was not found in any specimen, and 18 of them fell
below the government's thresholds for radioactive cesium (500 becquerels
per kilogram), however one from Warashina area exceeded (679 becquerels).
The reason why only one area has exceeded the thresholds is unexplained,
however, it is thought that the rain made the radiation plume fall on
the leaves back in March, and ironically the mountainous landscape of Warashina which
brings in the fog, ideal for good tea, has possibly affected.
The prefecture requested the producer halt shipments, and is now testing
other samples from 100 tea processing factories in the same area.
2 additional samples from the different factory have exceeded the thresholds for radioactive cesium at the moment (June 14th).
The prefecture of Shizuoka has also started to test the second flush, so far none of them are exceeded the regulations.
We, Hishidai, have tested voluntary our material tea of 2011 first harvest, and none of them has exceeded the regulations.
We are buying acceptable 2nd flush only from the western area of Shizuoka, and also from Kyushu.
We will respond to the needs of origin inquiry and certificates as much as we can.
Hishidai Co.,Ltd.
May 2011
Dear customers,
We would like to use this opportunity to thank you for your commitment to support Japan after the great earthquake and tsunami hit on March 11th.
As Japanese, we are also sorry that we have been making you feel concern about the radiation leakage happening in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
We are located in the western Shizuoka prefecture. Our material teas
mostly come from Shizuoka and partially from Kyushu island.
Where we are is over 400km and Kyushu island is more
than 1,150km southwest away by airline distance from Fukushima.
The prefecture of Shizuoka has tested on the impact of the radiation leaks on the first harvest of green tea this year from May 2nd - 14th , in their 16 regions so far.
The specimens were taken from all over the prefecture, covering the most of the tea producing areas (＊See the map below.), and they are tested as fresh leaf and infusion.
As results, the readings of radionuclides in all of the specimens from Shizuoka prefecture fell to well below the regulatory levels.
The results are compliant with not only Japanese domestic regulations, but also with CODEX (FAO&WHO), EURATOM (EU), and FDA (USA).
In the response to the results, the prefecture has officially announced for Japanese green tea industry that the first harvest of 2011 is safe to be consumed,
and they will continuously test the crop this year.
Also, the environmental radiological monitoring has been carried out by
each prefectural government in Japan, and you can check the readings and
more at below page.
http://www.mext.go.jp/english/incident/1303959.htm
If you are curious about the radionuclides' level of your location for comparison, these two pages offer their survey.
http://www.epa.gov/japan2011/index.html (USA)
http://www.irsn.fr/FR/Documents/france.htm (France)
For further questions, please write to: info@greentea-direct.com
Hishidai Co.,Ltd.
＊Maltiple specimens were taken from the large areas.