China, accused in Japan of producing tainted frozen beans and dodgy dumplings, now says it has found toxic chemicals used in paint in Japanese mustard and soy sauce.
China has been swept by a series of food- and product-safety scandals in recent months involving goods as diverse as toys, tyres, toothpaste, pet food, fish and baby cribs and is fighting a scare over melamine found in milk and other products.

China said this month it had no evidence that frozen beans pulled from the shelves in Japan were tainted with pesticide. Earlier this year, several Japanese were made ill by Chinese-made dumplings that also contained pesticide, but a joint investigation failed to reveal how the contamination occurred.

Tests conducted by quarantine officials found Japan-produced soy sauce and mustard sauce had been contaminated by toluene and acetic ester, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

"This would risk people's health," Xinhua said, citing experts on the chemicals which are used in paint and paint thinners.

"They will lead to headaches and vomiting if people eat food tainted with them," Xinhua said.

The sauces were produced by three Japanese factories, Xinhua said without revealing the names of the producers. The watchdog ordered Chinese companies to test similar products and take them off the shelves, the report said.

No related sicknesses had been reported in China, but the two chemicals had caused some sickness in Japan, it added.

Warming diplomacy between China and Japan over the last two years has done little to smooth rough edges. Chinese memories of Japan's invasion and brutal occupation of parts of the country from 1931 to 1945 run deep.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso had his first meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last weekend at an Asia-Europe summit, adding to a string of high-level visits since nationalist Junichiro Koizumi stepped down as Japanese prime minister in 2006.

A months-long scandal over melamine appearing in Chinese milk products and eggs has caused thousands of children to fall ill in China and killed at least four.

被日本指責生產了受污染的凍豆子和毒餃子的中國現在說，在日本生產的芥末醬和醬油中發現了用在油漆中的有毒化學成分。

在最近的幾個月里，中國被一系列食品和產品安全丑聞所席卷，涉及的這些商品種類繁多，有玩具、輪胎、牙膏、寵物食品、魚肉和嬰兒床，現在中國正在消除因牛奶和其他產品中發現三聚氰胺而引起的恐慌。

本月，中國聲稱沒有證據證明在日本被下架的凍豆子被殺蟲劑污染。今年早些時候使一些日本人致病的中國產餃子也含有殺蟲劑，但是聯合調查組沒能揭示污染是怎樣產生的。

檢疫官員進行的檢測在日本產的醬油和芥末醬中發現了甲苯和乙酸乙酯，新華社周五說。

“這會危害人民的健康。”新華社援引在這些用于油漆和油漆稀釋劑的化學物質方面的專家們的話說。

“食用了被這些東西污染了的食品會引起頭痛和嘔吐。”新華社說。

這些調味料是由三家日本工廠生產的，新華社并沒有披露它們的名字。檢查部門要求中國企業將類似產品進行下架檢查，報告說道。

中國尚未發現與此相關的病例，但是這兩種化學物質在日本已經導致了幾個病例，報告補充說。

過去兩年日趨升溫的中日兩國關系并沒有對這起摩擦起到太多潤滑作用。中國人對1931年到1945年日本對其的侵略和對部分國土的野蠻占領記憶深刻。

日本首相麻生太郎與中國總理溫家寶在上周末的亞歐峰會上進行了第一次會見，此外自從2006年作為日本首相的民族主義者小犬蠢一郎下臺以來，雙方增加了一系列高層互訪。

這起長達數月的關于在中國奶制品和雞蛋中發現三聚氰胺的丑聞已使中國的數千兒童致病，至少四人死亡。