An official of the Hebei Province's quality inspection agency told reporters in Shijiazhuang on Friday that the two batches of dumplings involved in food poisoning in Japan were unlikely to have been contaminated during the transportation process in China.

Investigations had shown that the dumplings were kept in the shipping container after they left the manufacturer, Tianyang Food Plant, and the inspection and quarantine authority of Hebei Province made sure that the door and seal of the container were intact when the shipment arrived at the customs facility.

The customs officials followed the rules, checked the documentation for the goods and let the container through without opening it, the official told a press conference.

Earlier this month, Japanese and Chinese investigators inspected the company but found nothing irregular. They also found no problems related to the purchase of raw materials or the production process.

Di Menglu, head of the dumpling maker, quoted an announcement from the Japanese Ministry of Education dated Feb. 6, which said that other schools serving dumplings from the same batches did not report any poisoning cases.

Earlier tests showed the rest of the dumplings from the same batches sold in Japan, totaling more than 2,000 packages, were safe. So were all the other products made by the Chinese company.

(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2008)