Mincha|The United States recently issued a warning to ban the entry of a variety of Japanese foods?

Ming Inspector丨Tao Yadi Liu Haowen

Quick Facts

The "Import Alert 99-33" in the online legend law was actually issued in 2011, after the Fukushima nuclear accident. At that time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed authorities to detain designated products in 13 areas near Fukushima, Japan, without inspection. However, FDA stopped this warning in September 2021.

The online report originated from the "Southern Daily" on March 18, 2023, and the source is unknown. The DNS information of the southern news website is located in the United States, not Thai media transmitted online. There is also no evidence in the relevant sections of the newspaper about "Australia suspends issuing Japanese visas" and "the United States stops Japanese immigration to the United States".

Event background

Recently, a picture circulated on social platforms, purportedly a report by Thai media Meinan Daily on March 18, 2023, which said, "Import Alert 99-33 issued by the US Food and Drug Administration went into effect a week ago, which announced that due to Japan's nuclear contamination, a variety of Japanese foods such as dairy products, vegetables, and meat will be banned from entering the United States." The picture also said, "Australia stopped issuing visas for Japanese." "The United States stopped Japanese immigration to the United States."

Mincha

Where did the online reports come from?

Using a Google search for "Meinan Daily" to search for the newspaper and periodical of its website e-newspaper on March 18, 2023, the online report appeared on the B2 page of the same day, without the author's signature. The Southern Daily is divided into four pages: A, B, C, and D, and the theme of the B page is the southern community of the United States, the content is complicated, and most of the seemingly report-type content is of unknown origin. Taking the B2 version as an example, in addition to online reports, this page also covers a variety of content such as the crash of a drone in the United States, the convening of religious activities in Texas, and social club advertisements.

Screenshot of the B2 page of the electronic newspaper of the Southern American Daily on March 18

According to the official website of Southern News, the newspaper was founded in Houston, publishes news, business, sports, literature and art, and publishes a large number of regional commercial advertisements. The DNS information of the website shows that the IP territory and registrant address of Southern News are located in the United States, not online Thai media.

DNS information on the Southern News website shows that the IP address is located in Virginia, USA

Has the FDA recently issued Import Alert 99-33?

According to a statement on the official website of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Import Alert 99-33 was issued after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011, not recently.

On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake struck the waters off northeastern Japan, triggering a massive tsunami and causing a nuclear leakage accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. After the disaster, the Japanese government decided to ban the sale and export of some food products from the affected prefectures and cities. Section 801(a)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act states that FDA-regulated products will be denied entry into the United States if their sale is prohibited or restricted in the country of manufacture or export. Therefore, in response to Japan's ban on the sale of some foods, the US Food and Drug Administration issued import warning 99-33 at the time, allowing authorities to detain designated products in 13 regions, including Fukushima, Aomori and Chiba, without inspection.

Screenshot of Import Alert 99-33 issued by FDA in 2011

However, FDA announced the retirement of this warning in September 2021, and the official website announcement states that "after extensive analysis of Japan's robust cleanup, testing, and enforcement control measures, a review of 10 years of sampling results from Japanese food, and a determination that the risk to U.S. consumers of radiation-contaminated food imported from Japan is very low, FDA has determined that this import alert is no longer necessary to protect public health and should therefore be withdrawn." ”

Screenshot of FDA's September 2021 announcement to discontinue this alert

In addition, there is no evidence for the statements in the pictures on the Internet that "Australia stopped issuing visas for Japanese people" and "the United States stopped Japanese immigration to the United States".

In 2014, Australia's immigration authorities suspended visas to a number of West African countries affected by the Ebola outbreak, including Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, excluding Japan. After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan, the Australian government's warning was mainly reflected in "urging citizens holding non-essential positions in Japan to consider leaving Tokyo and the eight areas most affected by the earthquake", and the official emphasized that "the reason is Japan's infrastructure problems and not nuclear problems", and did not suspend visas to Japan.

Reuters reported on March 17, 2011 that Australia issued an official warning against Japan's Fukushima nuclear leak

Nor did USCIS ban Japanese immigrants because of the nuclear leak. In fact, in 2019, a study by the University of Melbourne also stated that "while Australia has always been a popular destination for Japanese immigrants, it has become more popular since 2011 (after the Fukushima nuclear disaster)." The number of Japanese residents in Australia increased by 30.2% from 74,679 in 2011 to 97,223 in 2017. It is worth mentioning that the growth rate of Japanese becoming permanent residents of Australia is even higher - an increase of 32.9% over the same period. For the Japanese, Australia is now the second most popular permanent destination after the United States. ”

A screenshot of the study published in the Journal of Social Sciences in Japan by researchers at the Institute of Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne

To sum up, the "Import Alert 99-33" in the Internet Legend Law was actually issued in 2011, after the Fukushima nuclear accident. At that time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed authorities to detain designated products in 13 areas near Fukushima, Japan, without inspection. However, FDA stopped this warning in September 2021. The online report originated from the "Southern Daily" on March 18, 2023, and the DNS information of the southern US news website is located in the United States, not the Thai media transmitted online. There is also no evidence in the relevant sections of the newspaper about "Australia suspends issuing Japanese visas" and "the United States stops Japanese immigration to the United States".