Pesticide-tainted Rice Scandal Could Involve 370 Companies

Matt Hopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins|16 September 2008

Seiichi Ota, Minister of Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, announced that around 370 companies were involved in the handling of tainted rice purchased by scandal-hit Mikasa Foods. News reports claim that Mikasa intentionally resold rice contaminated with the pesticide methamidophos, aflatoxin B1 mold, and the pesticide acetamiprid, for human consumption.

Many of the companies involved were apparently unaware that the rice was tainted.

The Ministry is set to cooperate with the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which is involved in public health activities such as testing the concentration of residual agricultural chemicals, as its investigation continues.

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