Under the new rules, the limit for general foodstuffs such as fruit, vegetables, rice, seafood and meat is 100 becquerels of radiation per kilogram, down from 500 prior to April 1. The limit for milk, baby food and infant formula is 50 becquerels per kilogram. For drinking water and tea leaves, it is 10 becquerels per kilogram.
The ministry said local municipalities will be responsible for carrying out testing and that any item measuring above the set standard will not be permitted to be sold.
The problem is that bananas are naturally radioactive. One banana has perhaps 15 Bq, there are usually more than 6 or 7 bananas to a kilo of them and thus a kilo of bananas has more than 100 Bq. And as for Brazil nuts, these are actually so radioactive that if you take them into a nuclear installation you cannot take them out again. They’re too radioactive, go over the limits for what a nuclear installation is allowed to release into the environment. It is possible that this nuts story is apocryphal of course but I wouldn’t bet against it being true.
via Japan Bans Bananas: From the Annals of Government Stupidity – Forbes.