Brussels, 30/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - On the back of a number of complaints received from citizens, the European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros, on Monday 30 May, asked the European Commission to provide, by 30 June, citizen-friendly information about the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination of foodstuffs in the EU before and after the Fukushima accident in Japan. Following the accident, the Commission activated its emergency mechanisms on the basis of legislation that was introduced after the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine in 1986. This legislation, which includes maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination of foodstuffs in case of an accident, was applied to food imported from Japan to the EU. However, in April 2011, the Commission then decreased the maximum permitted levels in line with the action levels applied in Japan. The citizens who complained suggest that there is a lack of comparative information about the changes made to the maximum permitted levels after the Fukushima accident. Hence the initiative taken by the Ombudsman. (O.L./transl.rt)