On March 8, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of the Republic of Korea said that a small amount of radioactive cesium was detected in a Japanese confectionery product scheduled to be imported into South Korea, leading the importer to cancel the import plan, YonHAP news agency reported.

The MFDS said cesium of 1 becquerel (Bq) per kilogram was detected in a candy made in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, during a radiation test of imported products.

According to the report, the relevant importer originally planned to import 122 kilograms of candy from Japan, but cancelled the import plan after the test results were announced.

Even if the radiation levels detected are below the safe threshold of 100 becquerels per kilogram, the MFDS requires importers to conduct further tests for other radionuclides.

According to the MFDS, South Korea found traces of cesium in Japanese products four times last year, each time leading to the cancellation of import plans.