China's police and the national quality watchdog says the poisoning incident in Japan involving imported Chinese dumplings is a special case of sabotage and it's unlikely to have taken place in China.
China's food safety watchdog said at a press conference that the Chinese government has been attaching great importance to the dumpling poisoning case.
In response, the Chinese police have conducted an urgent independent investigation into the incident.
Yu Xinmin, Official of Ministry of Public Security, said, "The poisoning incident in Japan caused by imported Chinese made dumplings, was a special case of sabotage. And after comprehensive investigations, we believe there's little chance that the pesticide was put into the dumplings in China."
China's quality watchdog said it also came to the same conclusion based on a series of findings.
Wei Chuanzhong, Deputy Director of AQSIQ, said, After our investigations, we have found no trace of pesticide in related products and samples. We have found no abnormal operations in the operational procedures of the Chinese producer as well. Therefore, we believe the incident is not a food safety issue, but just an individual case.
The quality watchdog also called for the establishment of a long-term food safety cooperation mechanism between the two countries to better deal with issues like this and guarantee the healthy growth of trade relations.
Japan reported that 10 people fell ill in December and January after consuming frozen meat dumplings produced by a food plant in northern China.
Earlier this month, Japanese investigators conducted a half-day inspection tour of the company and did not detect any abnormalities.
The Chinese government has also invited domestic and overseas media to visit the dumpling-maker's plant.CCTV
