Japanese Health Officials Investigate Pesticide-Tainted Beans from China

Japanese health officials have reportedly warned consumers that particular lots of frozen green beans imported from China are tainted with the organophosphate insecticide dichlorvos, resulting in the illness of at least three people. Residents of Kashiwa in the Chiba Prefecture experienced mouth numbness, vomiting and other symptoms after eating adulterated beans manufactured by Shandong-based Yantai Beihai Foodstuff Co. and sold in Japan under the Ingen brand. Japanese regulators stated that the beans contained 6,900 parts per million of the pesticide, or approximately 34,000 times the legal limit. At this level, a 132- pound person would feel acute symptoms if she consumed just 0.07 gram of the product, according to officials.

Quarantine authorities have since halted all food imports originating with the company, urging retailers to pull 265 tons of the frozen beans from shelves pending an investigation. The ministry also noted that it was willing to work with Beijing to resolve the problem. “For more than a year, products made in China have caused damage in various places,” Prime Minister Taro Aso was quoted as saying. See Reuters, October 15, 2008; The Japan Times, October 16, 2008.