Dumplings: 'China not to blame'

2008-02-28 20:33

Beijing - Chinese authorities said on Thursday that their investigation shows there is little chance that pesticide-tainted dumplings blamed for sickening at least 10 people in Japan were contaminated in China.

There have been suggestions in both countries that the poisonings were deliberate and that the contamination happened in the other country, but Chinese investigators said they had conducted extensive tests and inspections on the production, storage and transport of the dumplings and found nothing unusual.

Fifty-five people involved in the production process were also questioned and no suspicious activities were uncovered, said Yu Xinmin, a top criminal investigator at the Ministry of Public Security.

Traces of methamidophos, an insecticide banned in Japan, were found in the dumplings, on the packaging and in the vomit of the people who were sickened in December and January after eating two separate brands of dumplings made at the Tianyang Food Processing Ltd. factory.

"We believe that there is little chance of putting methamidophos into dumplings in China," Yu said.

He noted that police believed the case was "caused by manmade factors" and did not stem from tainted raw materials.

Checks have turned up nothing unusual at the factory in northern China's Hebei province, Yu said. "Our investigation has proven that the Tianyang food plant ... has strict management of its production."

Yu would not say if he thought that the poison was added in Japan.

"Japanese police say they believe it is highly unlikely," Yu said.

"We have convincing evidence supporting our conclusion and so do Japanese police. The problem now is whose evidence is more scientific, objective and reliable?"

The case touched off a food-safety scare in Japan, a key export market for China, and set back Beijing's efforts to shore up foreign consumer confidence in its exports after a series of food and product safety scandals last year.

"We regret that the police authorities of Japan not only refused our request to inspect the scene and the relevant material evidence and re-examine the identification reports, but also gave no comprehensive introduction on how they collected and examined the material evidence," Yu said.

"We have provided all documents that we thought would be helpful to China, and I do not understand why we have to hear a word 'regret,"' Yoshimura was quoted as saying by Kyodo.

Wang Guiqiang, from the evidence department of the public security ministry, said tests closely simulating storage conditions were conducted to see if different concentrations of methamidophos could seep through sealed plastic packages.

Results showed that it was possible in almost 90% of the cases - a finding contrary to Japan's.

- AP