'We believe this is an individual case and since it is an individual case, it should not impact on our two countries' relations,' foreign ministry spokesman Mr Liu Jianchao told reporters.

A total of 3,742 people have said they became sick after eating the dumplings or other frozen food, the Japanese health ministry said in its latest figures.

Japan's health minister on Tuesday said China-made dumplings may have been deliberately poisoned with pesticide, which was detected on packaging and on frozen meat dumplings themselves.

The case has triggered a nationwide scare in Japan, leading major foodmakers to recall all food made at a factory near Beijing and generating intense media coverage.

But Mr Liu called for calm and urged Japan's media not to jump to conclusions until investigations were finished.

'First of all, we should take a reasonable mentality. We should not draw premature conclusions before investigations are complete. That is not a reasonable mentality,' he said.

China - Japan's largest trading partner and second-biggest supplier of imported food - has denied Japanese allegations that the dumplings themselves contained pesticides but has pledged cooperation in the investigation.

It has shut down the company - Tianyang Food Plant in north China's Hebei province - blamed for producing the suspect foods, state media reported earlier.

It also sent an inspection team to Japan and Chinese officials have in turn held talks with a visiting Japanese team that arrived on Monday and was taken to the factory for an inspection, Mr Liu said.

'As you can see, China has taken a series of measures and has cooperated with Japan,' Mr Liu said.

The global reputation of China's vital manufacturing industry was seriously damaged last year by a string of overseas safety scandals and product recalls involving the country's export goods.

The scare comes as Japan and China work to repair relations still troubled by Tokyo's World War II aggression. -- AFP