Cup Noodles Recalled, Tainted with Bug Killer

(Tokyo, Japan) A major manufacturer of instant noodles, Nissin Food Products Co., has issued a nationwide recall after a woman became sick from eating insecticide-tainted Cup Noodles brand noodles.

Nissin president Susumu Nakagawa said the noodles could not have been contaminated at his company's factories.

“We have confirmed that the chemical is not and has not ever been used in this product," he told reporters at a press conference late Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, city officials in Fujisawa, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo, said a woman had grown sick and vomited after eating Nissin Cup Noodles she bought at a local supermarket earlier in the week. The noodles were found to be contaminated with paradichlorobenzene, a chemical used in bug repellent.

On Friday, the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union, which runs a chain of cooperative supermarkets, said it had found the chemical in several varieties of Cup Noodle made by Nissin and was pulling the products from its stores.

With recent sensational reports of food being tainted, the Japanese government is evaluating the necessity for a dedicated food and product safety agency. Nissin, by the way, claims to be the first instant noodle maker (1958). According to Nissin's website:

The noodle isn't just a meal. It's a steaming hot celebration of texture and flavor.

Personally, my experience with "steaming hot celebrations" has usually been associated with Mexican foods.

Nevertheless, regarding the recall I've eaten Nissin products and have always thought they needed a little extra something. Not bug killer but something.