Is it safe to eat Japanese fresh produce, considering all the factories that are right next to the gardens?

Question

I have been living in Kanazawa Japan for 9 months now and although I love the cheap and wonderful fruits and vegetables here, I am wondering as to the safety of eating them. Most of the places where you get fresh produce are right next to factories and places which would seem to emit toxins of some sort. I dont know how they regulate these things here. Can someone help me out?

Answer 1

Air pollution is not going to be transmitted to you via vegetables.  If the pollution was harmful enough to hurt you, it would have killed the plant.  So the vegetables should be safe.  Just make sure you wash them thoroughly before you eat them, in case some kind of fertilizer or pesticide was used.