Chinese and Japanese officials began a close-door talk Tuesday morning in Beijing on the frozen dumpling poisoning case.

The Japanese officials, totaling four, are from Japan's Foreign Ministry, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.

Before the talk, Harashima Taiji, head of the Japanese official team, expressed his appreciation for the timely response on the case by the Chinese government and said the Japanese government paid great attention to the case.

Wang Daning, head of the Chinese official team and also director of the department of food import and export safety under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said he was grateful that the Japanese government sent a mission to China in time. Paying great attention to the case, the Chinese government formed an investigation team with the immediate effect, Wang said

"We hope we can clarify facts related to the case as soon as possible and give the public a fair and reasonable explanation," he added.

According to earlier Japanese media reports, nearly 300 people have sought medical treatment, with one girl in serious condition, since a Japanese company last week said that frozen meat dumplings produced at the Tianyang Food Plant in Hebei Province contained insecticide.

Japanese authorities found an insecticide called methamidophos in the vomit of the poisoned people and food packages at their houses.

But tests showed that the rest of the dumplings from the same batches sold in Japan, totaling more than 2,000 packages, were safe. So were all the other products made by the Chinese company, said Wang earlier.

On Sunday afternoon, a five-member Chinese team arrived in Tokyo to meet related Japanese officials on the issue. The Chinese officials and experts were from the AQSIQ, the Ministry of Commerce, the Certification and Accreditation Administration and the Academy of Inspection and Quarantine and Hebei provincial quality watchdog.

It is learned that after the close-door talk in Beijing, the Japanese officials will visit the Tianyang Food Plant in Hebei Province.

Earlier report said while suspicious clues such as small holes on some packages remain inexplainable, it's currently still unknown whether the food products were contaminated during the production and transportation process in China.

(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)