Annex 7
School Lunch Questionnaire (September, 2011)
Fukushima prefecture teachers’ union education culture division
28/103 (Collection Rate: 27.1%)
1. Please let us know how the presence or possible presence of radioactive materials
has made it difficult for you to get safe food.
○ I am responding to the problem by buying food made in other prefectures.
But if typhoon comes, what measures will the government take? Please tell
the parents what the government will do. (Fukushima)○ Prices are expensive. Since I am ordering food, it impossible to makesudden order additions, changes, or cancellations I am concerned with thequality. I do not want my children to dislike the food produced inFukushima. (Fukushima)○ I am using food produced outside of Fukushima, but sometimes the place ofproduction suddenly changes, which is a headache. The food tastes bad andis expensive. (Fukushima)○ I am disappointed that I cannot eat food produced in Fukushima. I wasordering apples and pears from local farms, but now I can not, so I feelsorry for the farmers. (Fukushima)○ Results of inspections of local vegetables are disclosed, but they do notinspect all food products. ND values are vague, so I am eating vegetables
produced outside Fukushima. There is no certain suggestion from the city
education committee. I am concerned with the newly harvested rice.
(Fukushima)○ I am using food produced outside Fukushima, but I am not sure if it is safe.
(Fukushima)○ I am mainly using food produced outside Fukushima, so I cannot eat
inexpensive and fresh food. In a long term, I am worried about the budgetfor school lunches. (Fukushima)○ I am refraining from using locally-produced vegetables. (Fukushima)○ I am worried if is it possible to eat newly harvested rice with no radioactive
materials. (Adachi)

○ Because of the disaster, our school kitchen is not available and therefore
we cannot offer school lunch. (Koriyama)○ The food available to consumers may be safe, but the inspection is notchecking all food, so I cannot accept the result of inspection without
questioning. To ensure food safety we should not use food made locally ornear local areas and in hot-spot. Therefore, it is important for us to be able
to easily talk with the responsible business people. There is a difficulty ofbidding system. (Koriyama)○ We want to offer food which is as safe as possible. (Koriyama)○ The government says that vegetables are safe, but the safety is not certain,
so we cannot enjoy safety and parents say that they are worried. I am
having difficulties ordering food. (Iwase)○ Some companies stopped making processed products using local food. Also
I cannot use processed products made of food produced in 2010. (Iwase)○ Because there are no radiation counters, we cannot know the realradiation level. We cannot check if food available to consumers is reallysafe, so I am anxious. (Iwase)○ In the first school term we did not use local food. (Nishishiro)○ Because the situation is not safe, I am not using local food. However, somebusinesses provide local food. It is difficult to say “Don’t provide it to us”, soI am using it with anxiety. If I had more staff I would check the results ofinspections., But since I am the only staff, I cannot have time for it.
(Ishikawa)○ I cannot check whether the food delivered is actually safe or not.
(Ishikawa)○ When using local food, they say that they are doing monitoring inspection,
but it is merely a pinpoint inspection, so I am anxious if the food I am
using is really safe. (Tohaku)○ Sometimes it is difficult to check the place of production. (Soma)○ I want to think that food available to consumers is safe. Vegetables had noproblem, but it was disappointing that the report on beef was on late notice.
(Hokai)○ It is a matter of trust, but I hope there are no fabrications regarding theplace of production. (Hokai)
2. Please let us know if there have been any changes in food preparation methodsand/or menus.
○ The use of frozen food has increased. I cannot use locally-produced food.
(Date)○ I change the place of production from Fukushima to other cities. I try to
put high-fiber food on the menu. (Fukushima)○ I have not changed a food preparation method, but I am not eating
locally-produced fruits anymore. (Fukushima)○ I want to add one more cycle of washing, but due to the lack of facilities, Icannot. We are not following the policy of “Local production for local
consumption.” (Fukushima)○ After the disaster, I was trying to avoid cruciferous vegetables and green
and yellow vegetables. Now I am eating them bit by bit. I cannot eat local
and seasonal food any more. (Fukushima)○ I am not eating Fukushima food. (Fukushima)○ I am using a lot of frozen food. (Fukushima)○ All menus became non-local food. I cannot make a local menu. (Adachi)○ I am cautious about using food that grows on trees. (Koriyama)○ I check the safety of food before I use it. In case of minor shock, I am
decreasing the times of preparing deep-fried food. (Koriyama)○ To avoid misgivings, I am not offering food which has been reported on thenews. (Iwase)○ I am trying to use much seaweed. (Seihaku)○ I am not using beef. (Seihaku)○ I am not using fish and seafood. (Ishikawa)○ I am trying to not to use beef. (Ishikawa)○ I increased the time of food washing from 3 to 4 times. I am using“yudekoboshi” which is a way to boil the food and throw the water away forvegetables using for soups. (Tohaku)○ I cannot use seasonal food, such as chestnuts or mushrooms. (Tohaku)○ I am not using beef, so I am using pork for gyudon (beef bowl), bibinba andchinjyaorosue. (Hokai)○ Not using beef. (Hokai)○ Trying not to use beef. (Hokai)
3. During the first school term, there was a problem concerning the milk produced inFukushima. Are you taking any measures regarding this issue?

○ We give children an option not to drink milk but we do not give a refund
since we still include milk on school lunch menu. (Fukushima)○ When asked about the safety, we tell that it is safe. But we have about ten
per cent of left-over milk every day. This shows parents’ anxiety on thisproblem. (Fukushima)○ We were told not to stimulate people around. People who want to stop havestopped providing milk. (Fukushima)○ When asked by parents, we told them that milk offered on school lunch issafe. (Fukushima)○ From April 11th schools started providing school lunch (made at Iwateprefecture). From April 18th the use of local milk started. There was arequest to stop providing milk provided on 28th and from June to Julythose requests increased. At first, the results of inspection were vague, so
we accepted the request and gave refunds.
In the middle of July the inspection of milk became clear and ND value
became apparent, so from the second school term we called off thesuspension. We gave parents an explanation on the milk when we gavethem a refund, but if they still do not want their children to drink milk, we
dispose of milk at school. (Fukushima)○ I do not talk about milk and I am not taking any measures. (Fukushima)○ We are not giving any refund or stopping offering milk. However, if parents
say that they do not want their children to drink it, we are not letting them
drink it. (Fukushima)○ We are accepting students who do not drink milk. (Fukushima)○ We are showing the result of inspection on milk periodically once a week.
Then we explain it to parents. (Adachi)○ We stopped offering milk to students who do not want to continue drinking
it. (Koriyama)○ We stopped offering milk to students whose parents want them not todrink it. (Koriyama)○ We are telling parents that milk is safe, but if parents still do not want
their children to drink it, we stop providing it and give them a refund.
(Koriyama)○ We dealt with the problem according to notice from the prefecture and city.
(Iwase)○ We check the monitoring inspection results every day on the government’swebsite to check doses of radiation. (Iwase)○ We stopped offering local milk only to children who are anxious of drinking
it. (Iwase)○ We stopped offering milk to children who are anxious of drinking milk.
There are children who bring barley tea or milk produced outside Iwase.
(Iwase)○ I am checking the Fukushima prefecture’s website, because Fukushima iswhere milk is produced. (Ishikawa)○ No measures were taken. There is only one child who does not drink milk.
(Tohaku)○ For children who want to stop drinking milk, we did so. They are bringing
drinks from their home. (Hokai)○ We stopped providing milk for children whose parents who do not them todrink it. ( Hokai)○ Now there is one parent who does not want her kid to have milk, so westopped providing milk for her kid. The reason is that her kid started tohave nosebleeds often from May. We explained her about the safety of themilk. She looked satisfied, but we still do not give provide milk. (Hokai)
4. Are there any points of concern when responding to parents’ inquiries about school
lunch? Are you making any special effort to handle this matter?
○ Children can bring bag lunch. Except for children with a milk allergy, we
do not give them an option of not drinking milk, but with a principal’s
option, we accept the option. (Fukushima)○ An assistant principal deals with it. (Fukushima)○ An assistant principal deals with telephone inquiries. Teachers do notrespond directly to parents. We are lost without any suggestion from theeducation committee. (Fukushima)○ We are not sure where we should write that school lunch is safe on school
lunch newsletter. (Fukushima)○ People in administrative positions are dealing with it. (Fukushima)○ We are distributing information on vegetables and fruits used in school
lunch through a weekly newsletter. (Fukushima)○ We only use food that is not restricted in school lunch. We told parents that
we stopped using locally-produced food. (Fukushima)

○ We made a production area sheet beforehand. (Fukushima)○ In a lecture about food education we are saying that we are aiming to makesafe school lunch. (Adachi)○ Parents do not know which one (information) is right or wrong. They are
confused. If they make inquiries, we will try to answer their questions aspolite as we can. (Koriyama)○ We are checking the website of Fukushima prefecture and printing out
important information. If there are inquiries, we are answering theirquestions using those print-outs. (Iwase)○ From the second school term, we have been informing the production area
and the amount of food products used per person per a week. (Iwase)○ We can only say that we are using food as clean as possible for school lunchin order to prevent accumulation of radioactive materials in children’s
body. We wonder when this situation will end. (Iwase)○ If there are inquiries from parents, we are answering to their questions tothe extent possible. However, it is hard to give satisfactory answers
because each parent has a different standard of food safety.. (Iwase)○ We are telling the result of radiation inspection. (Nishishiro)○ We are putting information of production area of food on newsletters.
(Ishikawa)○ We wrote on April and May newsletters that we are using safe food forschool lunch. Parents have different views on the matter. Some say do not
use local food while other say not to write production areas on newsletters.
(Ishikawa)○ We are showing our measures of school lunches by posting an article thatmayor, vice mayor and school superintendent are eating school lunch innewsletters and newspapers to show that school lunch is safe. (Tohaku)○ We explain the present situation at a food tasting. We are informing
parents through school lunch newsletters. (Hokai)○ The city publishes food and production area on website. We publish
ingredients on school lunch newsletters. We held a parent orientation
meeting. (Hokai)○ We show our measures on school lunch on school lunch letters. We tellpeople to call us if there are any questions. (Hokai)
5. Please write down comments regarding issues of school lunch and radiation levels,
safety of food, difficulties after the disaster, or any other issues .

○ School lunch was based on the policy of“local production for local

consumption,” with the support of local farmers.. We want to know
measures to keep this good relation with farmers. Also we want to know
the measures to deal with parents’ inquiries. (Date)○ I am disappointed that I cannot let children eat local vegetables and fruits.
Parents are worried about newly harvested rice in the same way as they
are with milk. We do not what to say in food education since we cannot
promote the “local production for local consumption” policy anymore. I am
hoping the nuclear accident will be concluded as soon as possible. I know
governments have their own views on the rice problem, but I disagree withthe way that government uses school lunch to show that food is safe.
(Fukushima)○ Is it that local made is dangerous or non-local made is safe? I am confused
about the vague safety standard. Are there any ways of ensuring both
safety and security? (Fukushima)○ This problem lasts not only this year but also for more years to come, so I
need a guideline to do my job. Maybe we can reassure parents with suchguidelines. School lunch is what children eat, so nutritionists areoverstraining their nerves. I hope there are no more burden in both
physical and mentally way. (Fukushima)○ We can only just trust what specialists on radioactivity say. We cannot
make judgments by ourselves. (Fukushima)○ Everyone is confused with the problems caused by the disaster, because no
one has ever experienced it. However, education committee neither gives
us concrete instructions nor clarifies who is responsible for the matter.
This is a reason for a different policy on school lunch in each school. It isodd that there are different measures within the same prefecture. To
determine the amount of radioactive materials on school lunch per child,
we need a germanium radiation detector. (Fukushima)○ Until when this situation will last? If we have to measure the amount ofradioactive materials, we do not know how to do the work. (Fukushima)○ Before the disaster the policy of “local production for local consumption”
was promoted, but now local food is mostly unreliable. Not every parent isworried about school lunch, but this problem will last for long time, so I
want the government to show a guideline on paper. (Fukushima)○ Who will be responsible for measuring radiations and how we will use theradiation counter.(Fukushima)○ How long will the radiation problem last? I want to use food and milk
produced outside local area, but I do not know what will happen in thefuture. (Adachi)○ I want to provide school lunch without any fear. Some people refuse to eat
local food. Soon the season of newly harvested rice will come, I am anxious
about running out of food produced before the disaster. I need a prompt
direction from the government. I will do what I can do by myself.
(Koriyama)○ Anxiety will not disappear unless the disaster ends. Including parents
many involved parties’ thoughts and feelings exist. All of us want to knowwhat makes the situation safe, but no one can say it clearly. This situation
makes us anxious. (Koriyama)○ Future situation of sea and soil is uncertain, so I am feeling uneasiness.
(Koriyama)○ It is said that children’s exposure to radiations should be kept as low aspossible. However, there is no clear standard, and some cities began to seta stricter standard. Now there is no consistency between the standard andthe monitoring data published by prefecture. How can I understand thissituation? I am eating food based on the belief that food on the market issafe, but is it really safe if it is under 500Bq? I am always feeling anxiety.
There are children whose parents are shipping out pears and cucumber.
Although they are told that the products are safe, if they are not used inschool lunch, it is damaging the children’s feeling. Harmful rumors will
never disappear unless we use them on school lunch. If this situation will
last for long time, agriculture of Fukushima which is a homeland ofchildren will be gone. (Iwase)○ Regarding safety I know that we should not use local food, but before thedisaster we were promoting the policy of “local production for localconsumption.” Also not using local food increase harmful rumors. Now I do
not know if I am doing the right thing. (Iwase)○ The season of harvesting new rice is coming up. There are parents whoworry about rice, so I am anxious about what will happen when new rice isharvested. (Iwase)○ Our living area is a comparatively low radiation dose area. Therefore, I do
not feel serious atmosphere. (Nishishiro)

○ I am paying attention to press reports, but I do not know what is safe ornot safe. (Ishikawa)○ Considering children’s future, I do not know if we should keep providing
school lunch. (Ishikawa)○ We are not sure how we should select safe food. Should we use Fukushima
food or not. I am distressed by the risk of internal exposure. How long willsoil contamination last? Is food produced in Fukushima all right? Can wekeep on implementing the “local production for local consumption” policy? Iam full of anxiety. (Ishikawa)○ Recently, there were variations of radiation dose and information of
hot-spot. These make me anxious. I hope that the problem will be resolvedin the near future. (Tohaku)○ I recognize the fact that children and parents have anxiety about food. Butchildren eat school lunch believing that it is safe. To respond to their trust,I need accurate information. (Tohaku)○ From now on I am worry about newly harvested rice. What are we going to
do with the “local production for local consumption” policy? Even if aradiation level is under 500Bq, it is not zero, so we want a precise
indication of how much Becquerel is contained in each food. (Hokai)○ I am anxious that we have passed the point of no return. I need
information of food, so I want the government to show a clear response on
the matter. (Hokai)