TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japanese food products from areas affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster will not be allowed to enter Taiwan, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said Friday (March 12).

Chen was responding to questions from legislators one day after the 10th anniversary of the massive earthquake, which triggered a tsunami and nuclear meltdown, CNA reported. The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has repeatedly accused the government of preparing to legalize the import of food products from Japan’s Tohoku region, where the nuclear disaster occurred.

However, Chen stated Friday that if “nuclear” foods are found at the border, they will be destroyed or sent back. In past incidents, Japanese food items from the Fukushima area were relabeled to claim they came from other regions.

A referendum in 2018 banned such imports, but it was only valid for three years. Taiwan’s representative in Japan, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), reportedly said food products with nuclear residues would be labeled “nuclear food” but that if no problems are found, they could be called “Fukushima food.”

During Friday's legislative session, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told lawmakers he was not aware of such a statement but that the government is not presently discussing the possibility of allowing food imports from Fukushima.

Chen Shih-chung added that a research team the ministry sent to the Japanese region had not found excessive levels of radiation during soil tests.