Beyond the devastation caused by the Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan faces an even longer-term problem in the lingering effects of radiation emitted by the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Officials have detected greater-than-acceptable amounts of radioactive elements in tap water, milk and spinach, and readings from seawater near the plant set off alarms at 15 to 120 times government standards. So how safe is the Japanese food supply? Officials say that despite exceeding government thresholds, the amounts of radioactive material that have infiltrated water and crops are relatively small–you would have to eat pounds of the spinach to receive the amount of…
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