China Pesticide-Tainted Dumplings Poison 175 Japanese

By Eijiro Ueno and Takashi Hirokawa | Bloomberg(.com)
February 01, 2008

Chinese-made dumplings containing pesticides sickened 175 Japanese in a scandal the government says may damage relations with its neighbor, which exported $56.7 billion of food to Japan last year.

``There might be a negative impact on Japan-China ties,'' Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said at a press conference in Tokyo today. ``If both governments cooperate and take measures, the negative impact can be minimized.'' China said it's ordered a police investigation.

The dumplings, known as ``gyoza'' in Japan, are being recalled by Japan Tobacco Inc. and Maruha Corp. in the latest quality scandal involving China. Two weeks ago, China deemed a fourth-month campaign to eliminate ``non-food materials'' from produce a success, after contaminations including industrial dye in eggs and carcinogenic fungicides in fish.

``It makes you scared to buy imported food -- you worry about your kids,'' said Hiroko Date, a 38-year-old mother of two, outside a Fujimart supermarket in Tsukishima, Tokyo. ``I think the government's being slow on this. We've been hearing about other problems with things from China, like lead in toys.''

Yukio Hatoyama, the Secretary General of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, also criticized what described as a ``slow response'' by the Japanese government.

Some Chinese food imports may be banned under Japan's food- safety regulations, Japan's health minister Yoichi Masuzoe said today in parliament.

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