I interviewed the site of radioactivity measurement
As I mentioned in the previous article , Tatsuya wants to deliver not only "safety" but also "peace of mind", and from September 5th, we only handle "all head inspected" Kobe beef.
As explained so far, Kobe beef is sufficiently safe from the point that "contaminated feed is not used" and that the ancestors are Tajima beef from Hyogo Prefecture. I was there.
However, in order for our customers to use our beef with peace of mind, we only ship individual beef that has undergone a full inspection.
Click here for details → Tatsuya's declaration of "safety + peace of mind" - All of Tatsuya's Kobe beef has been inspected -
However, we thought that it was necessary to know what kind of examination was being performed, even if it was a radioactivity examination.
I visited the site of radiation measurement at " Kobe Chuo Livestock Shipment Co. , Ltd.", which is one of the organizations that conducts "whole head inspection".
What is Kobe Chuo Livestock Receipt Co., Ltd.?
All Kobe beef is distributed through auctions, and "Kobe City Central Wholesale Market Seibu Market" is one of the wholesale markets where auctions are held.
Among them are the following facilities:
・Kobe Municipal Meat Center
・ Kobe City Meat Hygiene Inspection Station A facility that inspects and manages meat hygiene
・ Kobe Chuo Chikusan Receipt Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Kobe Chuchiku)
A facility that collects cattle, pigs, etc. from producers nationwide and operates and manages auctions of carcasses disassembled at meat centers.
In other words, all beef shipped from the western market is distributed through "Kobe Chuchiku".
Since the end of August, "Kobe Chuchiku" has been independently testing all beef carcasses for radioactive materials. (→To article on Shokushin Tsushin 8/30 )
To the site of radioactive material inspection
One room on the floor of Kobe Chuchiku is used as a "radioactive cesium inspection room".
It seems that cesium has the property of accumulating in muscles rather than fat, so we use neck meat that is lean and easy to collect. About 630g of dice cut into a Tupperware and ready to go.
The measuring instrument used is NaI scintillation survey meter SG-2R manufactured by Canberra. Measurements are performed in a lead box to block as much external radiation as possible.
* Reference material (pdf) about the measurement method:
Radioactive cesium screening method in beef (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
Radioactivity measurement manual for food in an emergency (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
Equipment calibration of NaI (Tl) scintillation survey meter used to measure radioactive cesium in food in emergencies (Japan Radioisotope Association)
First, the background radiation dose (the radiation dose already present in the environment) is measured. (This never becomes zero. It is caused by cosmic rays and natural radioactive substances.) Here, tap water is placed in a tapper and placed in a lead box, and the radiation dose is measured. to measure Measure for a certain period of time, repeat this several times, and obtain the average value. After that, each sample is placed in a lead box and measured. Measure each three times and calculate the average value.
The unit measured at this time is "CPS", Count Per Second, that is, the number of radiation counts per second. It represents the number of radiation detected by the instrument in one second. When measuring the average value of beef specimens, background radiation is also measured, so the background CPS value is subtracted from the beef CPS value for conversion.
To convert CPS to Bq/kg (becquerels per kilogram), multiply the CPS value by a conversion factor specific to each instrument. The formula is as follows.
Bq/kg value of beef = (average CPS value of beef measurement - average CPS value of background) x conversion factor
(For details, see page 8 of Radiocesium Screening Method in Beef )
If the final calculation result exceeds 250Bq/kg (the national provisional standard value is 500Bq/kg), a more precise detailed inspection is to be conducted, and only beef that meets the standard is distributed. We now have.
Opinion/Miscellaneous impressions
On the day we interviewed, most of the samples showed negative values, lower than the background radiation = too low to be detected.
Now, for this radioactive material inspection, Kobe Chuchu purchased the necessary equipment at its own cost and conducted the inspection. The measuring equipment is not cheap at all, and it seems that it is in short supply and cannot be easily obtained. The inspection itself takes about 3 to 5 minutes just to measure each animal, and we have staff for that purpose.
Since the issue of cesium-contaminated cattle became known, there have been many voices saying that Hyogo Prefecture should actually conduct radiological tests. However, Hyogo Prefecture's view is that the prefecture does not use cesium-contaminated rice straw, and Kobe beef in particular is limited to ``Hyogo Prefecture Tajima beef'' for generations. However, the safety was ensured and there was no need for a comprehensive inspection. And based on the views of Hyogo Prefecture and JA, Tatsuya was the first to explain the safety of Kobe beef in this blog article .
However, in addition to such safety, the meat industry has also continued to strongly request radiological inspections so that consumers can be assured of the "peace of mind" of "tested" products. In such a trend, Kobe Chuchiku started inspections from August 23, "in response to consumer concerns and in response to strong requests from producers and buyers."
As far as I can see, it takes time to inspect each animal because it is a "full inspection", and the current situation is that the cost of not only the equipment but also the personnel is quite a burden. I thought that it would be difficult for all dealers to introduce inspections for all cows.
As a shop that delivers Kobe beef all over the country, we believe that it is most important to eliminate the concerns of our customers, no matter how "safe" Kobe beef is. While Kobe beef that has not been inspected is currently in circulation, in order to deliver a big "peace of mind" that it has been "inspected", we have purchased only "all inspected" Kobe beef from the shipment on September 5th. We are selling.
In the future, we would like to continue our "efforts for peace of mind" while always paying attention to the latest trends so that you can purchase Tatsuya's Kobe beef with peace of mind.
Shinichi Tatsumi, owner of Kobe Motomachi Tatsuya
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