South China's Hainan Province has taken measures to stop cow peas contaminated by toxic pesticides from entering the market, officials said Thursday.

The province announced nine emergency measures, including setting up 24-hour cow pea check points at the islands harbors and launching a comprehensive inspection on the use of pesticides, Zhao Yongwang, spokesman with the provincial agricultural department, said.

Government employees who fail to fulfill their duty to stop the toxic cow peas from entering the market will be immediately suspended from their posts, Chen Cheng, Hainan's deputy governor, said.

Earlier this month, about 3.5 tonnes of Hainan cow peas were found tainted with a poisonous pesticide called Isocarbophos in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province.

Wuhan destroyed all 3.5 tonnes of the cow peas and prohibiting further Hainan-produced cow peas from entering the city's markets.

Tests on Hainan cow peas were later carried out nationwide. Toxic cow peas were found in central Hubei, southern Guangdong, eastern Anhui and Jiangsu provinces.

Local food safety authority has urged strict inspection and tests on fruits and vegetables sold on local markets.

(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2010)