Japan suspects dumpling contamination at Chinese factory
TOKYO (AFP) — Dumplings containing pesticide that sparked a health scare in Japan were likely contaminated at the factory in China, Japan's chief government spokesman said Friday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura spoke after police investigators concluded overnight that at least one package of dumplings sent to Japan was properly sealed before the investigators opened and detected pesticide.
"If you use your common sense, if the possibility is that the pesticide was inserted before sealing the package, then it must have happened at the plant," Machimura told reporters.
But he added: "We are not in a position to make the final conclusion as investigators must work cautiously by taking various possibilities into account."
Pesticide was detected on the inner surface of a package of Chinese-made dumplings that had been unopened until being inspected, police said.
Police in western Hyogo prefecture investigated 11 packages of dumplings confiscated after consumers said they looked sticky.
"We detected methamidophos on the inner surface and the outer surface of one of the packages. This package did not have any holes until we opened it for investigation," a Hyogo police spokesman told AFP.
He was referring to the name of a pesticide that is blamed for causing 10 people to fall ill across Japan.
Thousands of other people have also complained that they felt ill after eating the frozen dumplings, although authorities have not confirmed that they consumed pesticide.
China, which is Japan's largest trading partner, has pleaded with Tokyo not to jump to conclusions and said it was investigating the cause of the pesticide scare.
Officials in both countries have raised the possibility of deliberate tampering with the dumplings, although their governments have made more cautious statements.