Japan: Japan’s recent experience, in which Chinese-manufactured, pesticide-laden gyoza poisoned 10 citizens, has prompted the government to restructure the inspection and labeling of imported and processed foods. Food inspection will now include tests for agricultural chemical residues, specifically organophosphorous pesticides. Such testing may prove difficult as Japan currently does not specify maximum residue limits for processed foods. A proposal by the prime minister calls for the consolidation of five laws governing food labeling and the requirement that all processed foods label their ingredients’ place of origin. The proposals, many of which are voluntary, could be approved later this year. In 2007, US exports of processed foods to Japan totaled more than $3.4 billion. Source: US Department of Agriculture