A major Japanese television network apologised on Monday after almost 160 people were struck with vomiting and diarrhoea after following a weight-loss plan it broadcast.
A May 6 show on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) introduced a diet of rice mixed with white kidney beans that had been roasted for about three minutes and ground into powder.
”We have received many complaints from different parts of the country about symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea as a result,” TBS said on its website.
”We deeply apologise to all the people concerned, including people whose condition was affected,” it said.
The Ministry of Health and Labour said that of the 158 people who got food poisoning, 30 had been hospitalised but were recovering.
The network urged viewers not to follow the diet and said white kidney beans were safe to eat if cooked according to usual recipes.
The food poisoning had been caused by lectin, a protein in the beans which rendered them toxic if not sufficiently heated. — AFP
