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Hundreds of Japanese have been taken ill after eating dumplings imported from China that were tainted with pesticide. Hospitals across Japan have been struggling to cope with people suffering from severe diarrhoea, dizziness and vomiting.

Supermarkets and schools withdrew imported dumplings and some stores suspended the sale of all food products imported from China.

Authorities in China, rocked by the latest safety scare to affect its exports, moved to reassure Tokyo that measures had been taken to deal with the crisis. The production and export of dumplings was suspended as China's food safety authority began an inquiry into the source of the contamination. Pre-export tests on the dumplings' ingredients showed them to be safe, the authority said.

Meat and vegetable dumplings are a hugely popular food in Japan. Most are imported frozen from China. Japan relies heavily on imported food, buying the bulk of its produce from China and the United States.

The Japanese Government called an emergency meeting to draw up a plan to calm escalating public alarm. The scandal follows a series of food scares involving Japanese manufacturers, who were previously considered to have the highest safety standards.

The importer of the dumplings, a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, began a mass recall of all 23 varieties of the dumplings. As news of the product recall spread across Japan yesterday, all the main television channels carried emergency warnings for viewers not to eat the frozen dumplings.

The Japanese Government tried to reassure consumers that talks had taken place with China over the issue of food safety, and that a government inspection team had been sent to China to find out the how the dumplings had become contaminated. “We don't want to think that different countries have different standards on safety,” said Nobutaka Machimura, Japan's top government spokesman.

“But perhaps the Chinese side might have thought things are OK as they have said that they are '99 per cent safe'. Despite the claim, these incidents are happening. We want the Chinese authorities to investigate what happened.”

Opposition parties in Japan criticised the Government for not taking a tougher line on Chinese food safety. Yuichiro Hata, a Democratic Party MP, said: “Japanese people love dumplings. This is something that threatens people's lives.”

For China the trouble marks the latest in a long line of high-profile scandals surrounding the safety of its exports, including pet food, toothpaste and toys. This has prompted increasingly severe international calls for Beijing to improve its manufacturing safety standards. Last month China announced that its campaign to ensure the safety of its exports had been a success.

National obsession

40,500 tonnes of dumplings imported by Japan in 2006

800,000 dumpling pilgrims a year visit Utsonomiya, the “city of dumplings” which consumes more than any other city

12 regional specialist dumpling makers form the centrepiece of the Ikebukuro Dumpling Stadium, a food-themed fun park in Tokyo

Sources: japanguide.com; Quick Frozen Foods International

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