China says chemicals in Japanese food

BEIJING, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- China claims toxic chemicals were found in imported Japanese soy sauce and mustard sauce, days after Japan said imported Chinese frozen beans were tainted.

China's department of quality supervision and inspection said on its Web site that tests conducted Thursday by the Guangdong Entry-Exit quarantine institution found the Japanese-produced soy sauce and mustard sauce were contaminated with toluene and acetic ester, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The agency said the products were made at three Japanese plants but did not disclose their names, Xinhua said. Toluene and acetic ester are used as dye ware, paint and solvent, the report said, adding they can cause headache and vomiting if consumed.

While no sickness from the products has been reported in China, Xinhua said Japanese media have said some Japanese people had reported being sick after consuming the products. Chinese importers have been told to inspect and test products of the same kind and remove them from shelves, the report said.

China has been dogged in recent years by numerous product safety scandals from toys to the recent melamine-tainted milk. Tokyo-area health officials this month reported detecting high levels pesticide contamination in Chinese frozen green beans exported to Japan.

Chinese authorities later said tests on the samples of exported frozen green beans showed no evidence of such pesticide residue.