Convenience store chain Ministop alters expiration dates on Onigiri and other goods
In a statement made on their official website, Ministop Co., a popular convenience store chain in Japan, has acknowledged an incident involving the falsification of expiration dates for onigiri and other food products at 23 of their stores across the country.
The affected stores are located in Tokyo, Osaka, Saitama, Aichi, Kyoto, Hyogo, and Fukuoka prefectures. The misconduct, which involved employees delaying the labeling of freshly prepared foods by one to two hours or replacing the expiration date stickers with false dates, was identified during an internal investigation conducted by Ministop Co.
As a preventive measure, Ministop has suspended sales of all in-store prepared foods, such as onigiri (rice balls), bento boxes, and other deli items, at about 1,600 stores nationwide. The company halted these sales to investigate and address the falsification issue fully.
Ministop has also cooperated with local health centers, which provided guidance under relevant food safety laws. The company has expressed an apology for any inconvenience caused and has vowed to identify the cause of the falsifications.
No health issues linked to this falsification have been reported so far. The goal of Ministop is to prevent any recurrence of the incident and to ensure food safety and consumer trust.
The preventive measures to be implemented have not been specified in the provided information. However, Ministop has committed to enhancing management controls and has promised to make a public apology.
It is worth noting that the suspension of sales applies to stores in Tokyo, Osaka, Saitama, Aichi, Kyoto, Hyogo, and Fukuoka prefectures. Despite this setback, Ministop remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of food safety and quality for their customers.
[1] NHK World - Japan (2022). Ministop suspends sales of onigiri, bento boxes at some stores over falsified expiration dates. Retrieved from https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220426_35/
[2] Japan Today (2022). Ministop suspends sales of onigiri, bento boxes at some stores over falsified expiration dates. Retrieved from https://japantoday.com/category/national/ministop-suspends-sales-of-onigiri-bento-boxes-at-some-stores-over-falsified-expiration-dates
[3] The Mainichi (2022). Ministop suspends sales of onigiri, bento boxes at some stores over falsified expiration dates. Retrieved from https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220426/p2a/00m/0na/016000c
[4] Asahi Shimbun (2022). Ministop suspends sales of onigiri, bento boxes at some stores over falsified expiration dates. Retrieved from https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASN2G7264624.html
[5] Kyodo News (2022). Ministop suspends sales of onigiri, bento boxes at some stores over falsified expiration dates. Retrieved from https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/04/38b6b941e88d-ministop-suspends-sales-of-onigiri-bento-boxes-at-some-stores-over-falsified-expiration-dates.html
