Radioactive caesium has been detected above the safety level in rice for the first time in Japan since the nuclear crisis began at the Fukushima plant.
The sample came from a Fukushima city farm about 60km from the plant.
The government is considering banning shipments from the area it was found.
There have been a series of scares over radiation in food in Japan in recent months - in beef, mushrooms and green tea among other products - but never before in the country's staple, rice.
Now caesium in concentrations above the official safety limit has been detected in a sample from a farm in Fukushima city.
The rice was being prepared for market, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said none had been sold.
The discovery highlights the difficulty of tracking the radiation which has been spread across eastern Japan by wind and rain.
Local governments in rural areas have set up testing centres to try to ensure contaminated products do not get into the food chain.
Last week the Tokyo Metropolitan Government also began testing samples bought at shops in the capital in an attempt to further reassure anxious members of the public.
Ministers are ordering a crackdown on "hidden" waiting in the NHS in England.
Hospitals currently have to see non-urgent patients within 18 weeks but there are nearly 250,000 on lists who have waited for longer than this.
Ministers believe there is not enough incentive for these patients to be treated, meaning some are left "languishing" unnecessarily.
They are demanding NHS managers reduce the number of long waiters by about 50,000 by April.
The whole backlog is not being targeted as it is accepted that some patients wait longer than 18 weeks for justifiable reasons - perhaps because they have to lose weight before having surgery or for personal or work commitments.
There is particular concern within the government about some of the longest waits being seen. Among the 250,000 who have been waiting for longer than 18 weeks are just over 100,000 who have waited for more than six months and 20,000 waiting at least a year.
The government's latest NHS initiative is being viewed with a certain degree of irony within the health service.
This was an administration that came to power promising to move away from what it said was the target culture created by Labour.
Within months of seizing the reins ministers announced the 18-week waiting time target was being relaxed.
But that is not how it feels now for those on the front-line.
When criticism of the government's reforms was at its peak in the early summer the prime minister reiterated his commitment to the 18-week limit. Managers were left in no doubt, there was to be no let up.
And now there is growing concern about long waiters, ministers have responded by introducing what is effectively a new target to tackle the perverse incentives of an existing target.
However, these figures should be seen in the context of the total size of the waiting list, which currently stands at 2.6 million for non-emergency care, such as knee and hip replacements.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has blamed the targets established by the Labour government which he said had created a perverse incentive whereby the NHS was free to leave patients "languishing" on waiting lists.
He said: "Because of Labour's perverse approach, the NHS actually had an incentive not to treat patients.
"The new approach we will take from next year will clamp down on this practice. We will reduce the number of patients on hidden waiting lists, ensuring everyone gets access to the treatment they need."
Jo Webber, deputy policy director of the NHS Confederation, said she welcomed what the government was trying to do.
"This indicator will shine a spotlight on one of the many aspects of patient waiting the government does not currently measure."
There are currently 2.6 million patients on waiting lists for non-emergency treatment in England
Of those, nearly 250,000 have waited for longer than 18 weeks
Of which, just over 100,000 have waited for longer than six months and 20,000 for more than a year
The NHS sees about 300,000 in-patients a month and nearly 900,000 out-patients
But shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said the government was having to introduce these new rules because of Mr Lansley's failure to "get a grip" on waiting times.
And he added the government's overhaul of the NHS would just make matter worse as NHS hospitals would become distracted by competing with the private sector.
"This will take us straight back to bad old days of the Tory NHS, where patients are forced to choose between waiting longer or paying to go private."
He said there was some evidence the longest waits were actually going down.And Professor John Appleby, of the King's Fund, a health think tank, questioned whether the current system was creating perverse incentives.
"If they really want to tackle the longest waits they could simply say that no patient should wait longer than a year before treatment begins," he added.
With the nhs unable to take health and cleanliness as an essential part of health care it is essential to be involved in your own health ,cleanliness of the mind and body may involve change or modification to habits ......plenty for you to mull over !come to your own conclusions , get involved ! now you are aware , you are involved ,
A dossier containing "shameful" stories about the care elderly patients receive in NHS hospitals in England has been published by campaigners.
The Patients Association said the 16 cases include people being denied pain relief, left to sit in their own faeces and going without food and drink.
It comes after criticism from other groups and the charity said it was highlighting the tip of the iceberg.
The government said it was determined to "root out poor performance".
A programme of unannounced inspections would continue, the Department of Health added.
Last month the Care Quality Commission attacked hospitals for what the regulator said were "alarming" levels of care.
The Health Service Ombudsman also raised concerns about the issue in February, reporting that nearly a fifth of complaints it got were related to the care of the elderly.
As well as highlighting the 16 cases, the Patients Association said the number of calls to its helpline regarding care on hospital wards had already hit 961 this year - a third more than the total made throughout the whole of 2010.
George Taylor was admitted to Chase Farm Hospital in London in August with a urinary tract infection and chest problem. His family said he received a shocking level of care while there.
On one day, he was told by a nurse to go to the toilet sitting in his chair because she did not have time to take him to a bathroom. He did and his family then found him sitting in his own faeces. His wife had to clean him up.
His family also said he was often not washed, and the smell became overpowering at times. He was also discharged too early and was soon admitted to another hospital, where doctors said he should not have been released at all.
Mr Taylor's daughter, Gaynor Marshall, said: "The nursing staff treated him as an object that they had to treat rather than a human being." A complaint has now been made about his care.
The Patients Association said the failings fell into four broad categories - communication, assistance going to the toilet, pain relief and nutrition.
And it called on NHS trusts to sign up to a pledge to ensure these four areas of care become top priorities.
It said responsibility for the problems lay with everyone from individual staff on the wards to senior managers on the board.
Among the cases highlighted are a patient who was left sitting in his own faeces for hours after a nurse told him he should empty his bowels in his chair because she did not have time to help him go to the toilet.
In another case, a family of a patient had to beg for pain relief for a dying woman before waiting for nearly two hours for help to arrive.
And one man had to wait for 15 minutes to have his call buzzer answered despite having to desperately struggle for breath.
It is the third time the Patients Association has published individual stories like this.
'Poor performance'
Katherine Murphy, the charity's chief executive, said: "We cannot ignore the fact that some trusts are not even paying lip service to the fundamentals of care.
Sally Abbott-Sienkiewicz was admitted to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester in November last year. She was terminally ill with cancer and had developed pneumonia. She died within two days.
But throughout her time there, her family had to battle to get her pain relief. They said she was left in terrible pain - sometimes for more than an hour - as they argued with staff to give her sedatives. The worst problems were experienced during the night.
Her daughter Samantha White said at times her pain was "horrendous and horrific", but staff were too slow to react.
Suzanne Hinchliffe, chief nurse at the trust which runs Glenfield, said: "It is clear that we completely failed Mrs Abbott-Sienkiewicz and her family, and for that we remain very sorry." She added that measures were being taken to improve practices.
"The issues we continue to highlight are human rights issues. They show a lack of compassion and care and a shameful attitude to treatment of the elderly."
Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said the patients had been "clearly failed" in the cases highlighted.
"Each and every nurse is personally accountable for their own actions and must act promptly to raise concerns if staffing levels or other pressures get in the way of delivering good patient care."
But he also said managers must take responsibility, pointing out that job cuts were making it more difficult to provide good care.
The publication of the Patients Association report has also coincided with an announcement by the government that it is looking to improve standards for healthcare assistants, who are providing an increasing amount of care on wards.
These staff are currently unregulated, but the Department of Health is looking to introduce new rules by 2013 to ensure that they reach a minimum training levels before being allowed to work. However, indications are that this will be a voluntary requirement, which has disappointed some.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "The Patients Association is right to raise these examples and issues, and we will work with them and with the NHS to sort these problems out."
A code of conduct and minimum standards of training is to be drawn up for health care assistants and care workers who look after the elderly in England.
The government said the new standards are likely to focus on communication, confidentiality, nutrition and hydration amongst other things.
The announcement follows growing concerns about the training and quality of care provided by some care workers.They are often poorly paid whilst doing a difficult and demanding job.It is cases like that of Carol-Anne Norman that have caused concern.
She and her sister set up a camera to monitor the care their 85-year-old father was being given. He has dementia.They say the closed-circuit television pictures showed a number of care workers who didn't appear to know what they were doing.
It was just not care and, at times, I would call it abuse”
Carol-Anne NormanDaughter of patient
One worker was filmed wetting his flannel and toothbrush, wiping the basin with a towel to wet it then sprinkling talcum powder on the floor.In the notes it said their father had had a full wash, but their father was nowhere in sight. That worker has been suspended.Mrs Norman was shocked.She said: "It was just not care and, at times, I would call it abuse and they've done it because my father can't protect himself or speak for himself."
'More safeguards'
The local government ombudsman for England, Dr Jane Martin, is seeing a steady stream of cases that underline why a code of conduct is needed.Dr Martin can investigate what local authorities do, but believes there's a gap in the system when it comes to care workers.
"It seems to me, if there were more safeguards around the qualification or perhaps the registration of care assistants, that would give me greater assurance that they were being properly vetted and employed to do a job that we had more confidence in."
It is likely to be next September before details of the code and the training are published and a voluntary register of care workers is likely to be set up in 2013.Many will see it as a step in the right direction, but some will feel it doesn't go far enough.Nurses in particular have been pressing for a compulsory register for health care assistants. It is seen as a way to raise standards.In February, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley ruled out compulsory registration for care workers and scrapped the last government's plans for a register.Mr Lansley reportedly said that a compulsory system couldn't be justified in the current economic climate.He maintained voluntary registration could improve standards and quality of care without imposing the costs of mandatory regulation.Codes of practice have already been developed for health support workers in Scotland and Wales.
The government said the new standards are likely to focus on communication, confidentiality, nutrition and hydration amongst other things.A code of conduct and minimum standards of training is to be drawn up for health care assistants and care workers who look after the elderly in England.
The announcement follows growing concerns about the training and quality of care provided by some care workers.
They are often poorly paid whilst doing a difficult and demanding job.
It is cases like that of Carol-Anne Norman that have caused concern.
She and her sister set up a camera to monitor the care their 85-year-old father was being given. He has dementia.
They say the closed-circuit television pictures showed a number of care workers who didn't appear to know what they were doing.
One worker was filmed wetting his flannel and toothbrush, wiping the basin with a towel to wet it then sprinkling talcum powder on the floor.
In the notes it said their father had had a full wash, but their father was nowhere in sight. That worker has been suspended.
Mrs Norman was shocked.She said: "It was just not care and, at times, I would call it abuse and they've done it because my father can't protect himself or speak for himself."
'More safeguards'The local government ombudsman for England, Dr Jane Martin, is seeing a steady stream of cases that underline why a code of conduct is needed.
Dr Martin can investigate what local authorities do, but believes there's a gap in the system when it comes to care workers.
"It seems to me, if there were more safeguards around the qualification or perhaps the registration of care assistants, that would give me greater assurance that they were being properly vetted and employed to do a job that we had more confidence in."It is likely to be next September before details of the code and the training are published and a voluntary register of care workers is likely to be set up in 2013.Many will see it as a step in the right direction, but some will feel it doesn't go far enough.Nurses in particular have been pressing for a compulsory register for health care assistants. It is seen as a way to raise standards.In February, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley ruled out compulsory registration for care workers and scrapped the last government's plans for a register.Mr Lansley reportedly said that a compulsory system couldn't be justified in the current economic climate.He maintained voluntary registration could improve standards and quality of care without imposing the costs of mandatory regulation.Codes of practice have already been developed for health support workers in Scotland and Wales.
The rice came from an area outside the exclusion zone around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
