Chinese and Japanese experts team met for the second time Monday
at the Japanese Cabinet Office over a food poisoning case involving
Chinese-made frozen dumplings.
The Chinese side will continue to work closely with the Japanese
counterparts in the working-level discussions to find the real
reason behind the pesticide contamination, Chinese embassy
officials said.
At a news conference earlier in the day, Japanese Chief Cabinet
Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Japan is considering sending a
mission to China as quickly as possible to conduct inspection of
the factory and exchange views with officials of the Chinese
government.
The top government spokesman said the two sides "are finding out
various facts little by little."
Although about 2,000 people throughout Japan have reported
discomfort after having related Chinese food in the last several
days, the number of people confirmed by the Japanese government as
suffering from eating the poisoned dumpling remained at 10.
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It remains mysterious that how the pesticide substance called
methamidophos got into the food products by huge amount since the
Chinese producer, the Tian Yang Food Plant in north China's Hebei
Province, never used such material in its factory.
The five-member Chinese team, made up of officials and experts
from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection
and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Commerce Ministry, the Certification
and Accreditation Administration, the Academy of Inspection and
Quarantine, and Hebei provincial quality watchdog, met with
Japanese officials soon after arriving in Tokyo earlier Sunday
afternoon.
The Japanese side consists of experts and officials of the
Cabinet Office, the National Police Agency, the Foreign Ministry,
the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.
(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)
