Hideki Takenouchi, MD of beleaguered dairy giant Snow Brand Milk Products (SBMP), bowed deeply at a recent press conference to apologise for the company’s latest embarrassed scandal.
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It came to light late last month that since March last year, SBMP has extended the expiry dates on 760 tons of frozen butter from a factory in Betsukai on northern Hokkaido that was older than the 18-month limit. The Kyodo news agency revealed that this butter was then used as an ingredient in the company’s processed milk and ice cream.
SBMP has insisted that it reviewed the expiry dates only after confirming that the butter could be maintained for seven years when stored below minus 18°C.
Japan’s Health Ministry has ordered SBMP to improve its standards on freshness dates, however, and consumers have reacted with anger to yet another cover-up. Snow Brand was responsible for Japan’s largest ever food poisoning scandal during the summer of 2000, in which thousands of people fell ill.
On Friday, meanwhile, SBMP revealed that it would shutter its meatpacking unit Snow Brand Food by late April, amid widespread consumer anger at several beef mislabelling scandals.
The announcement led to some speculation of the parent company’s health and credit rating firm Moody’s Investors Service downgraded SBMP’s long-term debt rating to B3 from B2, warning that more downgrades could follow.
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