Pesticide-laced Chinese dumplings that sickened at least 10 people in Japan and triggered a nationwide scare were probably poisoned deliberately, the Japanese health minister said yesterday.
The frozen dumplings, produced by China's Tianyang Food Processing, were contaminated with the pesticide methamidophos and blamed for a string of poisonings in December and last month.
Investigators, however, have found traces of the pesticide on the outside of the dumplings, rather than in the filling. The poison was also found in much higher concentrations than would be expected from residue from pesticides sprayed on vegetables.
Japanese Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said that pointed to deliberate poisoning, rather than accidental contamination.
"Judging from the circumstantial evidence, we'd have to think that it's highly likely to be a crime," he said. "That means we must let police investigate and I hope the case would be resolved through our cooperation with China."
A Japanese government delegation has launched an investigation in China, where they were meeting with their counterparts. The group will seek to visit the dumpling factory where the food was produced.
About 20 top police investigators from the areas where the poisonings took place gathered in Tokyo yesterday to discuss the dumpling probe.
Tsuyoshi Yoneda, head of the Criminal Affairs Bureau at the National Police Agency, said the case was a "serious threat to food safety in our country."
In addition to the 10 confirmed victims, more than 1,200 people have reported becoming ill after eating Tianyang products, though no link with the pesticide in the additional cases has been proven.
Authorities have ordered the recall of millions of bags of dumplings and other foods made by Tianyang, while many stores and restaurants in Japan have stopped offering Chinese products altogether.
Traces of the insecticide were found in the dumplings, on the packaging and in the vomit of the 10 people who were sickened. Investigators in western Japan also found traces on six bags of the dumplings recalled over the weekend.
Punctures were found in a handful of bags that were recalled or tied to the poisonings.
China's product safety agency conducted tests on the ingredients of Tianyang dumplings from the same batch sent to Japan, but found none of the insecticide cited by Japanese authorities.
Japanese officials urged caution against jumping to conclusions about the source of the contamination.
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said hasty remarks could damage fragile bilateral relations with China.
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