Hundreds Affected by Pesticide-Contaminated Frozen Foods in Japan

As many as 1,700 people in Japan have reportedly become ill after eating
frozen food allegedly contaminated with the pesticide malathion, a chemical
used to kill aphids in corn and rice fields.

The food, which included frozen pizza and chicken nuggets and apparently
contained 2.6 million times the permitted level of the pesticide, has been
traced to manufacturer Maruha Nichiro Holdings. The company has issued a
public apology and recalled some 6.4 million packages of frozen food—1.2
million of which have reportedly been recovered. Authorities say it is unclear
how the items became contaminated and will continue to investigate. See
BBCNewsAsia.com and YahooNewsCanada.com, January 8, 2014.

Issue 509