JAKARTA, Indonesia. JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia found traces of radioactive cesium-137 at a clove plantation during a search for the source of radioactive contamination that led to a recall of shrimp and spices exported to the United States, a task force investigating the matter said Wednesday.
US Food and Drug Administration officials blocked the import of all spices processed by Indonesian company PT Natural Java Spice in September after federal inspectors found cesium-137 in a shipment of cloves shipped to California.
It is the second food product from Indonesia to be recalled due to radioactive contamination this year. after shrimp recall from another Indonesian company in August.
The task force discovered cesium-137 in a clove plantation in Lampung province. In collaboration with the Indonesian Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency, the company also inspected clove processing plants in the city of Surabaya in East Java province and another plantation in Central Java province.
“We can confirm that contamination was found in plantations in Lampung. The contamination was found in limited quantities and did not spread to other areas or products,” Bara Hasibuan, a spokesman for the task force, said in a written statement.
The Nuclear Regulatory Agency recommended a temporary halt to sales of the contaminated clove products pending further laboratory testing while investigators continue to track the source of the contamination.
“The government is moving quickly to contain this contamination to prevent it from spreading to other areas. Residents and businesses are advised to remain calm and wait for official laboratory test results,” Hasibuan said.
The task force determined that the earlier shrimp contamination occurred at a steel plant in the Tsikande Industrial Estate, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati shrimp processing facility, which ships millions of pounds of shrimp to the United States each year.
Nuclear radiation experts agree that the health risks are low because only very low levels of radioactivity were detected, but they say it is important to identify the source of the contamination and share that information with the public.
