Feb 11 - Five people have been arrested in Japan in connection with the pesticide-contaminated rice that caused a national food scare last year.
Japanese police announced that five people from Mikasa Foods, including 73-year-old President Mitsuo Fuyuki, had been arrested on suspicion of knowingly selling tainted rice.
All five from the Osaka-based company have admitted their guilt, said an official spokesman from the Osaka local authority.
The company is alleged to have purchased the rice from the government to use in the manufacture of glue – but than sold it as food in order to boost profits.
The contaminated rice was fed to patients in nursing homes and hospitals, sparking a national incident. Liquor and confectionery producers were also affected.
A police spokesman said: “This is an extremely vicious crime which created a social problem of nationwide worries over food safety.”
The rice was imported by Japan from Vietnam, China and other nations under an agreement to open up its tightly regulated markets.
Farm minister Shigeru Ishiba said his department needed to "apologize to people for not doing our job" to prevent such scandals.