International Specialty Supply
Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World
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International Specialty Supply Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World
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Damages Suit by Kaiware Growers
Against Government Rejected Tokyo
- The Tokyo District Court was cited as rejecting on Wednesday a lawsuit by
growers of "kaiware daikon" white radish sprouts, who demanded the
government pay them 2.2 billion yen in compensation for economic losses
allegedly caused by the government's naming of the produce as a suspected source
of massive food poisoning in 1996. Presiding
Judge Junji Maeda was quoted as saying in the ruling that, "It was
necessary for (the then Health and Welfare Ministry) to identify (the most
likely culprit) as a measure to prevent the recurrence of similar
incidents." The
story explains that the association of kaiware daikon farms and 19 member
growers claimed they suffered sharp drops in shipments after the ministry said
the product used in school lunches had been "the most likely source"
of the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria, blamed for the food poisoning in Sakai,
Osaka Prefecture, in July 1996. The ministry made announcements identifying white radish sprouts as the likely source of the food poisoning three times from July 1996 through January 1997. More than 9,000 people, mainly children who ate white radish sprouts in school lunches, were infected with the bacteria in the outbreak. Three girls died as a result. |