California Will Screen Milk For Radiation Contamination Amid Japan Crisis

California officials will screen milk produced in the state for signs of radiation contamination transmitted by grass-eating cows, Howard Backer, interim director of the California Department of Public Health, said yesterday in a news conference.

California authorities are reassuring residents that any radiation drifting across the ocean from Japan's earthquake- damaged nuclear reactors would not pose any health threat. Officials are monitoring radiation levels and had not detected any rise as of yesterday, Backer said.

Dean Foods Co., the largest U.S. dairy processor, has not been directly affected by the situation in Japan, company spokeswoman Liliana Esposito said in an e-mail statement. Dean Foods, based in Dallas, is in close contact with dairy organizations working with U.S. government agencies to make sure the dairy industry is taking "all appropriate action," Esposito said.

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