For Sakes sake!

Even the traditional Japanese Sake is not free of Fukus curse:

BBC report details lack of confidence in Fukushima prefecture produced Sake

BBC report

However this was the nugget that made me laugh:
""My impression is that, typically, British customers tend to trust their own government, and the Japanese government, to avoid putting them at risk," - Antony Moss, who teaches courses on sake at the London-based Wine and Spirit Education Trust.

NO WE BLOODY DON'T MATE!

a reply to: UltraMind
I read the entire article and nowhere do they talk about the numbers for radiation level test results of Fukushima sake, though they mention that it's tested. I suppose that may be partly because the typical consumer isn't really sure what to make of the radiation levels reported.

It's interesting that the sake rejected by China and Korea ends up in the UK. I understand that you and many others may not trust the government to keep your sake safe, but apparently someone in the UK must be buying the stuff or they wouldn't keep shipping it there.

If I was a sake drinker, I'd consider drinking sake from Fukushima prefecture if I could see the test results. However I know that Japan raised allowable radiation limits for many things after the disaster, such as allowing more radiation exposure for school children causing one official to resign in protest. I don't know if they raised standards for radiation levels allowed in sake and since I don't drink it I'm not motivated to research it, but if it turned out they did, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

The truth is, we just don't have reliable science on the safety of relatively low levels of radiation. The two schools of thinking are:
-No threshold, any amount is potentially hazardous
-Threshold, small amounts below that threshold aren't hazardous

China and Korea have refused to accept sake from regions they consider suspect. So I guess other people getting sake from those regions that China and Korea rejected are sort of human test subjects. I doubt they are in any great danger. There may be no effects at all, but if there are, I'd expect the numbers might be something like is it one person in a thousand losing 10 years of life expectancy or three people in a thousand losing 20 years of life expectancy, or something along those lines. If someone dies at age 60 instead of 80, how do we know if it was from exposure to Fukushima radiation or some other cause, since you can get exposed to many different things in 60 years? This is why low radiation level health effects are so difficult to exactly quantify. Data collected from people exposed to low levels of radiation will contribute to our knowledge, but it takes decades to see all the effects.

I used to prefer Sake from the Fukushima prefecture before the earthquake. It was soft and slightly sweet. Very good sake over all. After the earthquake, out of an abundance of caution I switched to sake produced in the Fushimi prefecture. Still a sweet sake, not quite as soft and a little more acidic, but overall still pretty good.

I can't say whether sake from Fukushima is safe. I have a buddy who owns a geiger counter here in Tokyo, I might ask to borrow it and take some measurements from Fukushima sake. Might be interesting!

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

Please do and I am sure we would love to know what you find. Maybe this could be rad tracking by the back door. Buy a product from a known location/time and measure the radiation (if any) and plot it on a map of Japan.

I love the smell of fresh mutating radiation in the morning!

originally posted by: FormOfTheLord
I love the smell of fresh mutating radiation in the morning!

I don't believe radiation has any known type of aroma? Anyway. I love sake.

originally posted by: Alekto

I don't believe radiation has any known type of aroma?

Indeed it does. It smells like.........victory.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Alekto

I don't believe radiation has any known type of aroma?

Indeed it does. It smells like.........victory.

Victory smells? Oh ok.

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
After the earthquake, out of an abundance of caution I switched to sake produced in the Fushimi prefecture. Still a sweet sake, not quite as soft and a little more acidic, but overall still pretty good.

Why? Sake is sake.

originally posted by: Alekto

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
After the earthquake, out of an abundance of caution I switched to sake produced in the Fushimi prefecture. Still a sweet sake, not quite as soft and a little more acidic, but overall still pretty good.

Why? Sake is sake.

That's incorrect. As incorrect as saying "Wine is wine".

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun

originally posted by: Alekto

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
After the earthquake, out of an abundance of caution I switched to sake produced in the Fushimi prefecture. Still a sweet sake, not quite as soft and a little more acidic, but overall still pretty good.

Why? Sake is sake.

That's incorrect. As incorrect as saying "Wine is wine".

I think that was his point, lol all Alekto's comments have been a tad facetious. I like him.

Victory smells amazing.

& stay the hell away from anything that has to do with Fukushima, imo. Not that it really matters, it will still single handedly destroy life as we know it.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

Aaaahhhhh. Sometimes my sarcasm detector doesn't work like it should. I need to take my robot-shill body to the shop to have that recalibrated.

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun

originally posted by: Alekto

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
After the earthquake, out of an abundance of caution I switched to sake produced in the Fushimi prefecture. Still a sweet sake, not quite as soft and a little more acidic, but overall still pretty good.

Why? Sake is sake.

That's incorrect. As incorrect as saying "Wine is wine".

Seriously you stopped driking sake from the region as you were afraid of being irradiated?

a reply to: Alekto

I'm an American Conspiracy Theorist living in Japan. So... yup. Heh

There was another guy in Japan (I forget who) who claimed he'd heard that pregnant women were advised to not drink tap water after the big one, lest their offspring grow three heads etc. It was false of course.

My daughter was born shortly after the earthquake, can confirm she has only one head to the best of my knowledge. She's a right contrary cow though. Dunno who she takes after...

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
a reply to: Alekto

I'm an American Conspiracy Theorist living in Japan. So... yup. Heh

Poor you.

a reply to: Alekto

I know. Fukushima sake is amazing. I miss it.

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
a reply to: Alekto

I know. Fukushima sake is amazing. I miss it.

I'm gonna hunt some down in the morrow.

a reply to: Alekto

If someone thinks that's the only reason they shouldn't drink tap water, then I pity the level of their long term comditioned existence.

originally posted by: Eunuchorn
a reply to: Alekto

If someone thinks that's the only reason they shouldn't drink tap water, then I pity the level of their long term comditioned existence.

Well. I seem to be doing just fine. Passed my recent medical with flying colours. Low weight, low cholesterol (must be all that yummy sushi) and cancer free.