ADELAIDE, Australia (5 July 2000) -- Japan research scientists have found that over 52% of whale products are unfit for human consumption. The study found extremely high levels of contaminants in whale meat including organic compounds such as PCBs and DDT, and heavy metals such as mercury. The amounts of contaminants were far in excess of maximum limits set by Japan health officials. The maximum limit set for mercury is 0.4 parts per million (ppm) but the researchers who tested whale products in Japan found up to 645 ppm, over 1600 times the maximum limit set by health officials. The 1999 study also found that many whale products for sale in Japan are mislabeled. The response from Japan's Ministry of Health has been predictable. Officials have either ignored such warnings or issued advisories telling consumers to pour boiling water over whale meat to remove contaminants. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK | | "The West is trying to impose its unilateral standards on us. I regard this as cultural imperialism," said Masayuki Komatsu whose strident ultranationalist rhetoric echoes the anti-western slogans of Japanese fascists convicted of war crimes and executed after World War II. |
