South Korea to start own food service for Olympic athletes on Fukushima fears

Seoul – South Korea will start a full-fledged food service on Sunday for its athletes and delegates out of a hotel near the Olympic Village in Tokyo, according to a report by the country’s Yonhap news agency.

The decision reflects South Korea’s concerns that meals containing ingredients from Fukushima Prefecture, home to the disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station, may be served in the Olympic Village.

Some 420 meals per day will be delivered from the hotel to South Korean athletes and others at Olympic venues and training areas, the report said.

From South Korea, 14 cooks, as well as nutritionists and others, have arrived in Japan, bringing over ingredients including Korean pickles. They plan to conduct radiation checks on ingredients procured in Japan, according to the report.

On its website, the World Health Organization says that, “Since the early phase of the (March 11, 2011, disaster), the Japanese authorities have monitored food contamination closely and implemented protective measures to prevent sale and distribution of contaminated food in Japan and outside of Japan.”

In the Olympic Village, meanwhile, the South Korean team displayed a banner associated with a historical figure who fought against a Japanese invasion.

The South Korean team has agreed to remove the banner, following the International Olympic Committee’s complaint that it violated the Olympic Charter’s Rule 50, which bans political, religious or racial advertising during the games.