Radioactive Fukushima beef sold in Japan

TOKYO, July 17 (UPI) -- Radioactive beef from a farm in Fukushima Prefecture has been sold to the public in at least 13 provinces of Japan, officials say.

The cesium-contaminated beef, around 2,650 pounds of it, came from 42 cows shipped by a livestock farmer in Asakawamachi, in the region where the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday.

The cattle had been fed rice straw tainted by the radiation.

Sales have been confirmed in only 13 prefectures, but the meat was sent to Tokyo and at least 27 prefectures, where frozen beef now being stored by merchants will be held back from sale until it is tested.