Harrods has begun selling luxury peaches grown in Japan’s Fukushima region, which 13 years ago, suffered the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
The first of the unusually sweet white peaches, which cost £80 for a box of three, went on sale on Saturday at the luxury department store.
It is the first time peaches from Fukushima, in northeast Japan, will be sold in a British shop and comes amid persisting fears over the risk of radioactive contamination of food products from the area.
The sales campaign is being run by The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the operators of the Fukushima plant, who are now in charge of its decommissioning. It is part of an effort to dispel negative associations and improve export sales to help the region recover.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was destroyed in March 2011, after a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake generated powerful tsunami waves causing meltdowns in three reactors.
It forced the evacuation of more than 150,000 residents across the region, thousands of whom have never returned, despite dissipating levels of radiation.
Britain lifted the last of the import restrictions on food products from Fukushima, largely consisting of fish and seafood, in 2022. Such products are only imported to the UK in small quantities and sold to Japanese restaurants and specialist stores.
Tokyo, at the time, thanked the UK for making decisions “based on scientific evidence” that will help the “reconstruction” of the region.
Fukushima’s peaches were sold at the annual Japan Festival in London last October and reportedly sold out, sparking the deal with Harrods, which will also start selling Shine Muscat grapes from the region in October.
The peaches are prized for their exceptional taste, perfect form and reputation as the world’s sweetest – and most expensive – peaches, with sugar content more than double usual supermarket varieties.
“We would like to continue to convey the appeal and tastiness of Fukushima Prefecture’s produce to the world,” an official from Tepco told Japan News.
Harrods has been approached for comment.
Other promotional food events will also take place across the US, where rice and scallops from Fukushima will be promoted.
The mountainous region of Fukushima is the second biggest producer of peaches in Japan, accounting for more than a quarter of the industry, with its tasty fruits attributed to a combination of fertile soil and an amenable climate.
Known for its rich agricultural heritage in Japan, it is famed for its cherries, pears and grapes, as well as peaches, painstakingly cultivated by local farmers. Its local seafood, quality white rice and nihonshu sake is also famed across Japan.
Since the 2011 nuclear disaster, however, farmers and fishermen have been hit hard due to safety concerns over radiation, despite regular testing and reassurances from the government that the food is safe.
The international peach promotion comes as a trial to remove the highly radioactive debris from the destroyed Fukushima plant is set to begin on Tuesday.
An earlier attempt to retrieve around 880 tons of extremely hazardous material stuck inside its reactors – the most daunting part of the decade-long project to decommission the plant – had failed.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
