Tokyo (CNN) -- Japan announced Tuesday it is banning all shipments of cattle raised in the Fukushima Prefecture amid fears that the meat may have been contaminated from radiation at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano made the announcement. Last week, a Japanese health official downplayed the dangers after cesium contaminated meat from Fukushima cows was delivered to Japanese markets and probably ingested. "If we were to eat the meat everyday, then it would probably be dangerous," Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of consumer affairs and food-safety, said at a news conference on July 12.
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Health officials downplayed the danger last week
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Officials find cows at a farm had been fed contaminated hay
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Workers are still battling to stabilize the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
Up until now, cattle in @placeholder were only subject to a screening test, to inspect for radioactive particles adhering to the skin, and farmers were ordered to self-report how it the cattle feed was being stocked.