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PARIS — The French government has decided to dispose of a shipment of green tea from Shizuoka Prefecture after detecting radioactive cesium above the European Union limit at Charles de Gaulle airport, an official said Friday.

The tea is the first food item imported from Japan to exceed the EU radiation limit of 500 becquerels per kg since March 11, when the nuclear crisis erupted at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

France detected radiation of 1,038 becquerels per kg in the 162 kg shipment of green tea, they said.

On June 11, it was reported that the Shizuoka Prefectural Government told a Tokyo-based mail order company not to post on its website that excessive radioactive material was being found in tea from the prefecture.

The retailer, Radishbo-ya Co., said a prefectural official told it not to disclose the finding to customers because it might cause "unwarranted harm" to Shizuoka tea growers, the report said.

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