A Thai event to promote fish from Fukushima Prefecture was canceled after locals and citizens' groups raised safety concerns, despite the fact no radioactive material was found in the fish, officials from the prefecture confirmed Wednesday.

The event, hosted by local trading companies to promote flounder caught in waters off Fukushima, was scheduled to be held at several Japanese restaurants in Bangkok between March 10 and 31. The hosts, however, decided to call it off after consumers and environmental groups voiced their concerns — many through social media — saying it's not safe to eat Fukushima fish.

The cancellation of the event in Thailand — the first country to resume imports of Fukushima fish — underscores the difficulty of brushing off the radiation stigma attached to the prefecture's products following the March 2011 nuclear disaster.