Tests on Chinese-made dumplings suspected of causing a food poisoning outbreak in Japan passed a local inspection, a quarantine chief said on Saturday afternoon.

The dumplings were suspected to contain methamidophos. Since 2004, China had banned the use of the pesticide substance on all fruit and vegetable crops.

"Tests on samples showed that material providers of Tianyang Food Co. had never used this substance," Cheng Fang, Hebei Provincial Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau director, said at a press conference in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital.

At least 10 people in Japan's Hyogo and Chiba prefectures reported stomach ache, vomiting or diarrhoea after eating the dumplings from Tianyang Food Co., according to Japanese media.

The Hebei-based company suspended production on Wednesday afternoon and its products were recalled, according to the bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2008)