More than 350 people in Japan have fallen ill after eating frozen food products that officials say were likely tainted with high levels of the pesticide malathion, The Associated Press reports.
Japan's major newspapers are warning citizens to avoid any frozen food products with "a strong smell" as they heat up, including any frozen pizza, cream corn croquettes and pancakes manufactured in a Gunma Prefecture factory north of Tokyo for Maruha Nichiro Holdings, Japan's largest seafood firm. The company has recalled 6.4 million packages of frozen food since they began receiving phone calls in late December, and now have received some 460,000 from concerned consumers, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Those who ate the pesticide-tainted frozen food reported vomiting and stomach pain, and according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, around 365 people have suffered from vomiting, diarrhea and other stomach problems after eating the pesticide-tainted items.
Marucha Nichiro Holdings has issued a formal apology to all of its customers, and police are currently investigating how the packages of frozen food were contaminated by up to 2.6 million times the allowable limit.
Click here to see a photo of the frozen food packages that Maruha Nichiro Holdings has recalled, which may contain the pesticide malathion.
