Chinese and Japanese experts team met for the second time Monday at the Japanese Cabinet Office over a food poisoning case involving Chinese-made frozen dumplings.

 

The Chinese side will continue to work closely with the Japanese counterparts in the working-level discussions to find the real reason behind the pesticide contamination, Chinese embassy officials said.

 

At a news conference earlier in the day, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Japan is considering sending a mission to China as quickly as possible to conduct inspection of the factory and exchange views with officials of the Chinese government.

 

The top government spokesman said the two sides "are finding out various facts little by little."

 

Although about 2,000 people throughout Japan have reported discomfort after having related Chinese food in the last several days, the number of people confirmed by the Japanese government as suffering from eating the poisoned dumpling remained at 10.

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It remains mysterious that how the pesticide substance called methamidophos got into the food products by huge amount since the Chinese producer, the Tian Yang Food Plant in north China's Hebei Province, never used such material in its factory.

 

The five-member Chinese team, made up of officials and experts from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Commerce Ministry, the Certification and Accreditation Administration, the Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, and Hebei provincial quality watchdog, met with Japanese officials soon after arriving in Tokyo earlier Sunday afternoon.

 

The Japanese side consists of experts and officials of the Cabinet Office, the National Police Agency, the Foreign Ministry, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)