Small hole found on package of tainted frozen beans from China

TOKYO, Oct. 18 Kyodo - A hole about 1 millimeter in size has been found on the package of frozen green beans from China that were found to be tainted with a highly concentrated insecticide and caused a woman to fall ill in Tokyo, a forensic science study by Tokyo police showed Friday.

The Metropolitan Police Department said it is investigating if the hole on the
package bought by the woman is connected to the contamination of the beans with
dichlorvos, adding the package may have been pierced deliberately.
The 56-year-old woman from the city of Hachioji purchased the frozen bean
package sold under the Ingen brand from a local supermarket on Saturday and cut
one of the edges with scissors, according to the investigation.
The 1 mm hole was found near the cut made by the woman. It was also close to
one of two 6 mm ventilation holes.
The package was made by a local unit of a Taiwan company in China's Fujian
Province and delivered to the factory that produced the bean product in
Shandong Province.
The forensic study also detected a trace of dichlorvos on the outer surface of
the package. The police suspect that the insecticide inside the package leaked
as it was opened by the woman or while the packet was being transported by the
police for inspection.
The MPD has also decided to inspect other packages of the same bean product
carrying the identical lot number of GH 01H 011QS, which indicates the time
frame in which they were produced.
There are about 70,000 packages with the same lot number and around 50,000 of
them were delivered to 331 outlets of the Ito-Yokado retailing group. About
38,000 are said to have been sold.
Nichirei Foods Inc., the importer of the product from China, and distributors
have recalled the product.
==Kyodo