BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese authorities said Thursday that their investigation shows there is little chance that pesticide-tainted dumplings blamed for sickening at least 10 people in Japan were contaminated in China.

There have been suggestions in both countries that the poisonings were deliberate and that the contamination happened in the other country. But Chinese investigators said they had conducted extensive tests and inspections on the production, storage and transport of the dumplings and found nothing unusual.

Fifty-five people involved in the production were also questioned and no suspicious activities were uncovered, said Yu Xinmin, a top criminal investigator at the Ministry of Public Security.

Traces of methamidophos, an insecticide banned in Japan, were found in the dumplings, on the packaging and in the vomit of the people who were sickened in December and January after eating two separate brands of dumplings made at the Tianyang Food Processing Ltd. factory.

The incidents have aggravated often-tempestuous relations between the neighbors, who have clashed over wartime history and mineral-rich territories.

"We believe that there is little chance of putting methamidophos into dumplings in China," Yu told reporters at a briefing. He noted that police believed the case was "caused by manmade factors" and did not stem from tainted raw materials.

Japan's Health Ministry had no immediate comment.

Checks have turned up nothing unusual at the factory in northern China's Hebei province, Yu said. "Our investigation has proven that the Tianyang food plant ... has strict management of its production," he said.

No problems were found during investigations into raw materials, production procedures and transportation methods, he said.

Yu would not say if he thought that the poison was added in Japan.

"Japanese police say they believe it is highly unlikely," Yu said. "We have convincing evidence supporting our conclusion and so do Japanese police. The problem now is whose evidence is more scientific, objective and reliable?"

For a decade, Beijing has been trying to restrict the use of methamidophos, and in 2004 banned its use on fruit and vegetable crops. The pesticide is known to be so deadly that farmers drink it to commit suicide.

The case touched off a food-safety scare in Japan, a key export market for China, and set back Beijing's efforts to shore up foreign consumer confidence in its exports after a series of food and product safety scandals last year.

Yu complained Thursday that his agency did not get full cooperation from their Japanese counterparts.

"We regret that the police authorities of Japan not only refused our request to inspect the scene and the relevant material evidence and re-examine the identification reports, but also gave no comprehensive introduction on how they collected and examined the material evidence," Yu said. It was not clear what scene or what evidence he was referring to.

Japan's Kyodo News agency reported that National Police Agency chief Hiroto Yoshimura was displeased with China's response.

"We have provided all documents that we thought would be helpful to China, and I do not understand why we have to hear the word 'regret," Yoshimura was quoted as saying by Kyodo.

Wang Guiqiang, from the evidence department of China's Public Security Ministry, said tests closely simulating storage conditions were conducted to see if different concentrations of methamidophos could seep through sealed plastic packages.

Results showed that it was possible in almost 90 percent of the cases -- a finding contrary to Japan's.

"The conclusion that we have better reflects the truth," Wang said.

Also Thursday, Wei Chuanzhong, deputy head of China's product safety watchdog, called for a food safety monitoring system between Japan and China similar to those in place between China and other major trading partners like the European Union and the United States.

According to Wei, Japan has said that 99.42 percent of Chinese exports passed checks in 2006. In 2007, the pass rate of goods from China reached 99.81 percent, compared with the 99.37 percent of Japanese products that were given the nod in the same period, Wei said.

"The data shows that the safety of Chinese goods is fully guaranteed," he said. "The Chinese government has taken decisive and swift measures. ... We hope that individual cases or incidents will not undermine the overall interests of China-Japan relations and the friendly sentiments between the two peoples."

Copyright 2005-2006 THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS. All rights reserved. Mainichi features the best news in Japan, current news in Japan, Japan news in English, Japan business news, Tokyo Japan news, and Japan entertainment news. Mainichi News is syndicated in accordance with editorial regulations: personal and noncommercial purposes.

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