By Xinhua
Beijing : A recent dumpling poisoning case in Japan was only an “isolated incident”, China’s commerce minister said Wednesday, calling for mutual trust.
“I hope the two sides can carry out close and friendly cooperation and discussion to address the issue,” Commerce Minister Chen Deming told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of China’s Parliament.
He said that the government attached great importance to product quality and food safety, and the dumpling poisoning had been found not to be related to product quality but was a single isolated incident.
“It’s been not easy for China and Japan to get their ties thawed and back to normal,” he said.
“Mutual trust should be given top priority in building a strategic relationship of mutual benefits, which the two countries are committed to,” he said.
In January, Japanese media reported that some people fell ill after eating frozen meat dumplings produced by the Tianyang Food Plant based in north China’s Hebei province.
In its investigation report, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in late February that the incident was an individual case, not a case of food safety resulting from pesticide residue.
The foreign minister stressed that China had conducted a serious, responsible investigation into the incident and had quickly released initial results since the government had taken safety seriously and responsibly for local and foreign consumers.