McDonald’s Japan, the Japanese arm of US fastfood giant McDonald’s, has said it is to switch suppliers of apple pies after discovering its current supplier used a colouring agent that is banned under Japan’s Food Sanitation Law.

Apple pies sold to McDonald’s Japan were found to contain the banned colouring agent azorubin. The pies had been imported by food processor Nippon Suisan Kaisha from the Chinese facility of a US firm, reported Kyodo News.

After learning that the pies contained the banned agent, McDonald’s said it had decided to switch to a Japanese supplier that produces pies without using the banned additive.

“The colouring agent is used in some European nations and it does not harm human health,” a McDonald’s spokesman said.

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