TOKYO, Oct 24 - Worries over the safety of instant noodles spread in Japan on Friday after nine servings were found to contain poison, and one maker recalled half a million cups of the popular product.
Nine cups of noodles distributed by the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union were found to contain paradichlorobenzene, a chemical used in mothballs, a spokesman said. He said the amounts were small and led to no illnesses.
"We have no idea how they were contaminated," the spokesman said. "We don't think anything could have been mixed in during production or distribution."
The findings follow a report on Thursday that one woman was made sick after eating the popular "Cup Noodle" snack made by Nissin Food Products Co Ltd.
Nissin has voluntarily recalled half a million cups that were made in the same Japanese factory as the contaminated cup, the company said.
The poisoned noodles have shaken the public's faith in what they eat, with consumers already worried about food safety after a string of scandals, most recently involving products made in China.
The contaminated instant noodles, however, were all from factories in Japan. Media reports said a police investigation was under way.
"Cup Noodle" under the Nissin brand is especially popular among Japanese, both young and old, with flavours ranging from milk seafood to chili tomato.
The noodles scare comes a week after reports that at least one woman was made ill after eating frozen beans imported from China containing insecticide.
Earlier this year, several Japanese were made ill by Chinese-made dumplings that also contained insecticide, incidents that followed several false labelling scandals involving traditional sweets and cookies made in Japan.
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