Farm ministry to punish 12 officials entertained by rice traders

KITAKYUSHU, Japan, Oct. 3 Kyodo - The farm ministry said Friday its internal probe has found that 12 ministry officials were wined and dined by Osaka-based Mikasa Foods and other rice wholesalers accused of selling imported rice that was moldy or was tainted with banned pesticide, and that it will punish them.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also said it has started to incinerate
the tainted imported rice at five locations nationwide, including Shimonoseki,
Yamaguchi Prefecture and Hakodate, Hokkaido, as part of measures to prevent
wholesalers from selling the rice.
At the five sites, the ministry said it destroyed 4.9 tons of the imported rice
that was moldy or had other problems.
The ministry is planning to burn a total of 240 tons of such imported rice.
The ministry is considering demanding that all wholesalers and other rice
traders identify the countries where the rice originated from, while stiffening
regulations on rice traders by revising the Food Law.
The ministry is planning to draw up the framework for new rules by the end of
November.
After it was revealed in early September that Mikasa Foods illegally sold
contaminated rice for human consumption, the ministry has been screening some
8,500 current and former ministry officials, who were in charge of the
administration of rice distribution.
The ministry said it will consult with the National Public Service Ethics Board
on the punishment for the officials who were entertained by the wholesalers in
question.
==Kyodo