Methamidophos

Presser on investigation into poisoned dumplings

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• published: 28 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST Beijing - 28 February 2008 1. Wide of interior of State Council conference on tainted dumplings 2. Cutaway of cameras 3. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Yu Xinmin, Deputy Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security: "China's police hold the view that the poisoned dumplings issue is an individual case caused by man-made factors, but not a food security incident caused by remaining pesticide. After the comprehensive and thorough investigations and examinations, we believe that there is little chance of putting methamidophos into dumplings in China." FILE: Hebei province - 15 February 2008 4. Wide of exterior of Tianyang Food Company 5. Various of production line machinery where dumplings were produced Beijing - 28 February 2008 6. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Yu Xinmin, Deputy Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security: "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." FILE: Hebei province - 15 February 2008 7. Wide of packed dumplings exporting to Japan 8. Close of boxes containing dumplings STORYLINE: There is little chance that dumplings blamed for sickening at least 10 people in Japan were contaminated with pesticides in China, police said on Thursday. There have been suggestions in both countries that the poisonings were deliberate, but Chinese authorities said 55 people involved in the packaging and storage of the dumplings were checked and nothing unusual was found. "We believe that there is little chance of putting methamidophos into dumplings in China," said Yu Xinmin, a top criminal investigator at the Ministry of Public Security. He noted that police believed the case was 'caused by manmade factors,' and did not stem from tainted raw materials. Traces of methamidophos, an insecticide banned in Japan, were found in the dumplings, on the packaging and in the vomit of the 10 people who were sickened in December and January after eating two separate brands of dumplings made at the Tianyang Food Processing Limited factory. Checks have turned up nothing unusual at the plant in northern China's Hebei province. 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 exports after a series of food and product safety scandals last year. Yu complained that his agency did not get full cooperation from their Japanese counterparts. "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," he said. The deputy head of China's product safety watchdog has called for a food safety monitoring system between the countries, similar to those in place between China and other major trading partners like the European Union and the US. For a decade, Beijing has been trying to restrict the use of methamidophos, and in 2004 banned its use on fruit and vegetable crops. The pesticide is known to be so deadly that farmers drink it to commit suicide. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a0b451282426a73378dbbe5e57e22541 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork